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THE

ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY

OF LONDON

This Edition is limited to
1,000 copies, of which this
is No.d^./.y

PLATE I.

THE WESTERN AVIARY.

{See p. 83.)

THE

ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY
OF LONDON

A SKETCH OF ITS

FOUNDATION AND DEVELOPMENT

AND THE STORY OF ITS

FARM, MUSEUM, GARDENS, MENAGERIE
AND LIBRARY

HENRY SCHERREN, F.Z.S.

MEMBER OF THE BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS' UNION

Author of the Official "Short History," forming part of "A Record of Progress,
edited by Dr. P. L. Sclater, F.R.S., late Secretary of the Zoological Society,
"A Popular History of Animals," "Through a Pocket Lens," etc.

CASSELL AND COMPANY, Limited

LONDON, PARIS, NEW YORK &> MELBOURNE. MCMV

OCT 4 1991

\<;:

> /,-■

HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF BEDFORD, K.G.,

the Eighth

President of the Zoological Society of London,

This Sketch

Its Foundation and Work

is,

By Permission, Respectfully Dedicated.

PREFACE.

In presenting this book to what I believe will prove a friendly
public, attention may be drawn to the fact that this is the first
attempt to tell the story of the Zoological Society at any length.
Nearly seven years ago, though the project had not then taken
definite shape, it received the approval of Dr. Sclater, who kindly
gave me free access to the Society's records, and, in consequence
of my work on them, entrusted me with the preparation of
the official " Short History." Since then his successor, Dr. P.
Chalmers Mitchell, has kindly allowed me the same privileges
and increased my obligations to him by reading the proofs and
making valuable suggestions.

My aim throughout has been to record facts and to give
authority for any statement that seemed in conflict with gener-
ally received opinion, without comment or the obtrusion of my
own views. While gathering material from every available
source, two considerations forced themselves upon me, and, as
a consequence, find expression in these pages. First, that
the foundation of the Zoological Society of London was
a natural development from the Zoological Club of the
Linnean Society ; and the second, that before the Zoological
Society was half a century old, its bionomical work practically
ceased owing to the increasing influence of morphographers
and systematists in its councils. The election of the
Duke of Bedford as President, the recommendations of the
Reorganisation Committee, and subsequent changes, mark a
return to lines laid down by the Charter.

The rest of my task is a very pleasant one — to offer my
sincere thanks to all who have helped me in the preparation
of this history. I am especially grateful to the President
for accepting the dedication ; and to the Duchess of
Bedford, I am indebted for such particulars of the Woburn
collection as were necessary for the purposes of the book.

viii PREFACE.

Professor Alfred Newton, F.R. S., has favoured me with much
information that has been incorporated. My obligations to Dr.
Sclater and Dr. P. Chalmers Mitchell are again acknowledged ;
without the facilities granted by them it would have been useless
to attempt the task. Mr. Arthur Ashbridge, District Surveyor of
Marylebone, invited me to examine his records concerning the
Gardens. Mr. R. I. Pocock has assisted me in matters of
identification. My old friends Mr. F. H. Waterhouse and
Mr. J. Barrow rendered valuable help — indeed, everybody at
Hanover Square evinced an interest in the work that was
extremely gratifying.

The Council of the Linnean Society courteously gave me
ready access to the Swainson Correspondence, and the
General Secretary, Mr. B. Daydon Jackson, was equally
obliging with respect to the few records that exist of the
Zoological Club; these were first shown me by my friend
Mr. J. E. Harting, at Dr. Sclater's request, when I was en-
gaged on the "Short History." For the photograph of the
Okapi (Plate 47) in Tring Museum, I am indebted to the Hon.
Walter Rothschild, M.P. ; to Mr. H. D. Crompton for that of
the interesting statuette of George the Fourth's Nubian Girafi'e
(Plate 2), and to my friend Mr. H. E. Dresser for the in-
formation, too late for insertion in its proper place, that
Dr. Crisp bought the stuffed skin of that animal when the
Museum collection was dispersed. Lastly, I should be in the
highest degree ungrateful if I did not include my wife among
those to whom my warmest thanks are due. She has shared
in all my labours ; and if, as I hope, the book be of permanent
value, I, at least, shall ascribe no small part of the credit to
her help and encouragement. Henry Scherren.

CONTENTS.

PAGE

Preface vii

Chapter I. {1822-1826) ........ i

Chapter II. {1827—1830) 25

Chapter III. {1831—1840) 51

Chapter IV. {1841—1850) 80

Chapter V. {1851—1860) I 103

Chapter VI. [1861—1870) 126

Chapter VII. {1871—1880) 150

Chapter VIII. {1881—1890) 176

Chapter IX. {1891—1900) 200

Chapter X. {1901—1904) 224

Indbx 247

LIST OF COLOURED PLATES.

I. Western Aviary
II. Terrace, from the Main Entrance

III. Camel House ....

IV. Three Island Pond .

V. Parrot and Elephant Houses .
VI. Monkey House ....
VII. Tunnel, from Canal Bridge
VIII. Lion House ....
IX. Broad Walk, with Elephants .
X. Tortoise House
XI. Ape House
XII. Sea Lions' Pond

Frontispiece

To face page 18

102

126

146

168

190

212

LIST OF BLACK AND WHITE PLATES.

PLATE

1. Sir Joseph Banks's House To face page 2

2. George the Fourth's Nubian Giraffe . . . „ „ 6

3. Gardens of the Zoological Society, Regent's Park,

1829 „ „ 10

4. Waterfowls' Lawn „ „ 14

5. Llama House, 1829 : Courtyard : Pelicans' En-

closure „ „ 24

6. Repository : Rabbits and Armadillos : Zoological

Gardens : Polar Bear : Monkey and Pole . „ „ 28

7. Beaver Pond and Falcons' Aviary : Aviary ; Cattle

Sheds and Yards „ „ 32

8. Elephant Paddock and Wapiti House . . . „ „ 36

9. First Monkey House „ „ 44

10. First Lady Jane : First Chimpanzee . . . „ „ 50

11. Thibaut's Herd of Giraffes „ „ 54

12. Elephant in his Bath : Giraffes . . . . „ „ 58

13. Medal and Seal „ „ 66

14. Elephant and Calf : Death of Jack . . . „ „ 72

15. Some Winners of the First Poultry Show . . „ „ 76

16. Obaysch in his Pond : Obaysch and Arab Keeper „ „ 84

17. Serpent Charmers : First Reptile House . . „ „ 88

18. Mesopotamian Lions : Fish House . . . . „ „ 92

19. Clouded Leopards „ .,96

20. Grey's Quagga ......... ,,106

21. Shoe-bill Storks „ ,,110

22. Antelope House : Sable Antelopes . . . „ „ 114

23. Entrance to Zoological Gardens in 1840 : Present

Entrance „ ,,118

24. Eagles' Aviary „ ,,122

25. African Elephants „ ,,130

26. Walruses . . „ „ 134

27. African Rhinoceros „ „ 133

28. Hoolock Gibbons „ „ 142

xii LIST OF BLACK AND WHITE PLATES.

TUiTK

29. Wombwell's Gorilla To face

30. New Lion House : Shifting the Carnivora . . „

31. Some of the Prince of Wales's Animals . - . „

32. Reptile House „

33. Departure of Jumbo „

34. Zoological Society's Headquarters, Hanover Square „

35. Meeting Room of the Zoological Society . . „

36. Meeting of the Zoological Society at Hanover

Square „

37. The Lawn „

38. Moti, the Pearl „

39. Jenny, the Gorilla „

40. Daisy, Ward's Giraffe „

41. Zebra, figured by Ludolphus . . . . . „

42. Rocky Mountain Goat : Selous' Antelope . . „

43. Cranes' Paddock

44. Kangaroo Paddock : Small Mammals' House

45. Grevy's Zebra : Grant's Zebra . . . . „

46. Jingo Carrying in the Broad Walk . . . „

47. Prjevalsky's Horses : Okapi in Tring Museum . „

48. Jim „

49. Anthropoids from the Hon. Walter Rothschild's

Collection „

50. Library of the Zoological Society . . . . „

PLANS.

page 150

154

j»

158

162

166

172

»j

176

»)

180

184

188

j»

194

198

202

204

208

>»

216

)»

220

224

228

236

240

244

PAGE

Decimus Burton's Plan of the Ground 28

Plan of the Garden, 1829 38

The Farm at Kingston Hill, 1829-1833 42

West End of North Garden and Northward Ex-
tension, 1834 54

East End of North Garden and Northward Ex-
tension, 1834 55

Plan of the Gardens, 1851 106

West End of Middle and North Garden, 1874 .... 152
East End of Middle and North Garden, 1874 . . . .153

Plan of Gardens, 1905 233

THE

ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY
OF LONDON.

CHAPTER I.
1822—1826.

ALTHOUGH the Society did not come into existence till
' 1826, for some years previous various influences were at
work that rendered the establishment of such a body not only
desirable but necessary. Activity in exploration had increased
the sum of human knowledge with respect to the animal
kingdom ; collections of living beasts, birds and reptiles, skins
and fossils, were yearly brought to our shores, and a growing
desire for information with regard to them was manifested by
educated people generally. As a consequence, existing Societies
were unable to deal adequately with the zoological papers pre-
sented, or to allow time at their meetings for the discussion
of zoological subjects. And during the first quarter of the
nineteenth century the only collections of living animals
accessible to dwellers in the metropolis were the Royal
Menagerie in the Tower and the private one of Mr. E. Cross
at Exeter 'Change,"^ just east of Burleigh Street, in the Strand.
A visit to the Royal Menagerie near the Sandpit Gate in
Windsor Park was not to be lightly undertaken.

The Royal Society, " the dignified parent of all our scientific
societies," had been expressly instituted " for the promotion of
natural knowledge " ; but, owing to the great development of

* In 1829 this was removed to the King's Mows, the site of which is now
occupied by the National Gallery. In 1831 the collection was acquired by the
Surrey Zoological and Botanical Society, and in the August of that year Queen
Adelaide gave her patronage to the project of a zoological garden on the south
side of the Thames, provided that it was "not in opposition, but only in a true
spirit of rivalry to the establishment in Eegent's Park."
B

2 THE ZOOLOQIOAL SOCIETY.

physical science, natural history had to put up with less
attention than many of the Fellows considered the subject
deserved. This led to the foundation of the Linnean Society in
1788, by Dr. James Edward Smith, a young Norwich physician,
who was knighted in 1814. Its object was defined as " the
cultivation of the science of Natural History in all its branches,
and more especially of the Natural History of Great Britain
and Ireland." But considering that the botanical work of the
great Swedish naturalist was then rated as of more importance
than his zoological studies, and that his books, manuscripts,
and herbarium were purchased by Dr. Smith on the death of
the younger Linnaeus in 1783, it will appear only natural
that, in the early years of the Society, botany received more
attention than the sister science of zoology. To this Sir
William Flower alluded in his address to the Zoological
Society at the meeting in the Gardens, June 16, 1887, on
the occasion of Queen Victoria's Jubilee. He expressed the
opinion that, if the leading Fellows of the Linnean Society
had displayed more energy, it might have kept in its hands
the principal direction of the biological studies of the country,
instead of allowing the Zoological Society, which had since
proved so formidable a rival, to spring up, and to absorb so
large a portion of its useful function. Sir William was not
curious to inquire into the reasons why the Linnean Society
did not take advantage of the opportunity, but contented
himself with the remark that " it did not supply all the needs
of the lovers of Zoology."

Hence it came about that some members, quite as much
interested in animals as in plants, determined to do some-
thing to spread the systematic study of natural history. On
November 29, 1822, the birthday of John Ray, "the father
of modern zoology," a meeting was held at the rooms of the
Linnean Society in Soho Square."^ The Rev. William Kirby,
joint author with Spence of the famous " Introduction to

* On the death of Sir Joseph Banks in June, 1820, Robert Brown, the famous
botanist, " clerk, housekeeper, and librarian " to the Society, suggested the advisa-
bility of removal to Banks's house, in the south-west corner of Soho Square. The
front part overlooking the square was accordingly taken, and here it vras that the
meetings of the Zoological Club of the Linnean Society were held.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

Entomology," was the Chairman ; and it was then resolved to
form a Club. In the following May bye-laws were adopted,
and the privilege of membership was restricted to Fellows and
Associates of the Linnean Society. The object of the Club
was defined as " the study of zoology and comparative anatomy
in all their branches, and more especially as they relate
to the animals indigenous to Great Britain and Ireland."
After some communication with the parent Society the new
association was formally named the "Zoological Club of the
Linnean Society of London " ; and it was arranged that all
papers passed for publication should be offered to the Linnean
Society, in whose Transactions (vols, xiv.-xvi.) many of them
appear, for the Club had no publication of its own. The
following is a list of the original members, and (C) denotes a
member of the Committee:

* Bell, Thomas (C).

* Bennett, Edward Turner (C).t
Blunt, Edward.

Booth, Thomas Swift.

* Curtis, John.

Dale, James Charles.

* Donovan, Edward.
Du Bois, Charles.
Hatchett, John.
Hatchett, John, jun.
Haworth, Adrian Hardy (C).
Henslow, John Stevens.

* Horsfield, Thomas, M.D. (C).

* Jenyns, Leonard, Rev.

* Kirby, William, Rev. (C).

* Lovaine, George, Lord.

* MacLeay, Alexander.

* MacLeay, William Sharp.
Milne, George (C).

* Percy, Hon. William Henry.

* Sabine, Joseph (Chairman).
Sheppard, Revett, Rev.
Sheppard, Edmund.

* Sowerby, George Brettingham.
Sparshall, Joseph.

Spence, William.

* Stephens, James Francis (Treas.

* Vigors, Nicholas Aylward (Sec]

Owing to some misunderstanding Mr. Swainson declined
to join the Club on its foundation, though he was elected in
1825. Among other members who played an important part
in the early history of the Zoological Society must be men-
tioned Mr. J. E. Bicheno (Chairman 1825-6), Secretary of the
Linnean Society; Mr. J. Children (Chairman 1826-7), of the
British Museum ; Mr. W. J. Broderip, the author of " Zoological
Recreations," etc. ; Mr. Edward Griffiths, translator and editor

* Names marked thus appear in the first printed list of members of tho
Zoological Society, January, 1829.

t "Under his management the Zoological Club [of the Linnean Society] became
the starting-point of the Zoological Society of London."— Diet. Nat. Biog.^ iv. 241.

4 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

of Cuvier's " Regne Animal " ; Major C. Hamilton Smith, the
explorer and practical naturalist; and Mr. William Yarrell,
the well-known author of "British Fishes" and "British
Birds." Sir Stamford Raffles was not a member, though he
was eligible, having been elected a Fellow of the Linnean
Society on February 15, 1825.

Some of the work was, of course, concerned with classifi-
cation, and some with anatomy ; but field and practical zoology
was largely represented. Thus, Burchell, to whom we owe the
distinction between the mountain zebra and the commoner
form named by Gray in his honour, contributed a paper on
some African barbets, which he considered as forming a
connecting link between the parrots and woodpeckers ; and he
based his conclusions on observations made during his African
travels. Yarrell raised the lancelet from its old position as
a mollusc to the dignity of a fish, from which it has been
deposed, though it now occupies a more interesting position as
a degenerate representative of the ancestor whence backboned
animals have developed. The same author here exhibited
and described his preparations of the organs of voice in many
birds, and those throwing light on the assumption of male
plumage by hen birds. Nor must his dissections and descrip-
tion of the jaws of the crossbill and the muscles actuating
them be forgotten. Buffon had called the crossed tips of the
bill a defect, an error of nature, which could not fail to be
very inconvenient to the bird. Yarrell explained fully the
working of the jaws and muscles " in riving asunder cones or
apples, while at the proper moment the scoop-like tongue is
instantaneously thrust out and withdrawn, conveying the
hitherto protected seed to the bird's mouth."

To one of the meetings Bell brought a living example of the
grison, a small South American weasel-like creature, which he
described as being " playful and harmless as a cat." Stedman
had previously given it a bad character for its depredations
in poultry yards. Not improbably both accounts are correct.
There is no reason why a rapacious little beast should not
make a charming pet when it is kindly treated and liber-
ally fed. Another of his contributions confirmed Schneider's
observations as to toads swallowing their cast skins.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 5

One special line of work pursued by the Club was the
observation of rare bird visitors, with the result of a consider-
able addition to the British Hst. In his presidential address
at its sixth and last anniversary, November 29, 1829, Mr.
N. A. Vigors enumerated the following species as having been
added to the catalogue of British birds since the foundation
of the Club, and chiefly by the exertions of its members :
Tengmalm's owl, bluethroat, black redstart, Kichard's pipit,
Alpine accentor, ortolan, Lapland bunting, parrot crossbill,
buff-breasted sandpiper, Temminck's stint, Baillon's crake,
Bewick's swan, red- crested pochard, ruddy sheldrake, Arctic
tern, glaucous gull, ivory gull, and pomatorhine skua. Sabine's
snipe was, of course, included, as was the Gambian goose.
The latter may be neglected, since this species has been kept
in this country as ornamental waterfowl for more than two
centuries, and was well established in St. James's Park in
the time of Charles II. Naturalists, therefore, regard occasional
specimens that may be shot as escapes, not as genuine
stragglers from Africa. For many years Sabine's snipe was
ranked as a distinct species; then the view gained ground
that it was only a melanoid variety on precisely the same
level as the albino and fawn-coloured snipes occasionally met
with. But though this view is embodied in standard books,
doubts were expressed of its correctness by Mr. J. E. Harting
at a scientific meeting of the Zoological Society in 1871 ; and
Mr. Pycraft's paper in the Ibis for April, 1905, makes it
clear that further investigation is necessary. Some of these
so-called Sabine's snipes are undoubtedly melanoid varieties,
inasmuch as they differ from the common snipe only in the
intensity of their coloration. Mr. J. L. Bonhote drew the
attention of the author of the paper mentioned above to the
difference of the pattern of the plumage of some specimens,
which resembled that of the great or solitary snipe. But two
facts must not be lost sight of in considering this question :
species, now admitted to be bad, have been founded on
variations in plumage; and though Sabine's snipe is rarely
met with outside the British Islands, it has never been found
breeding.

Beyond the papers in the Linnean Transactions already

6 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

referred to, the amount of literature in connection with the
Club is small. As was natural, the minute-books passed into
the keeping of the parent Society, and there is a very brief
abstract of them at the Zoological Society's offices. The
Introductory Address delivered at its foundation by the Rev.
William Kirby, the first Chairman, was published in the
Zoological Journal for April, 1825. Those delivered by Messrs.
J. E. Bicheno, J. E. Children, and Joshua Brookes, on their
retirement from the chair in 1826, 1827, and 1828 respectively,
and that of the Chairman, Mr. N. A. Vigors, on the dis-
solution of the Club, November 29, 1829, were published
separately at the request of the members, and copies of them
are in the library at No. 3, Hanover Square. Some extracts
will be of interest as showing the relations between the Club
and the Zoological Society; especially as these have been
somewhat overshadowed by the personality of Sir Stamford
Raffles, for whom the whole credit of the new foundation
has been claimed.

The Rev. W. Kirby 's address dealt with " the principal
objects of our association, and the best methods of carrying
them into effect." These were (1) the compilation of a Fauna
of native animals, which should contain information from the
economic point of view ; (2) geographical distribution ; (3)
comparative anatomy; and (4) palaeontology. One expression
in this address is suggestive. In treating of the preparation
of the Fauna certain lines of investigation were said to be
"legitimate objects of a Zoological Society." It is not easy
to decide to what Society Mr. Kirby referred. Not to the
Linnean, one would think, for the Club had been founded to
give its members the opportunity for zoological work which
the parent Society did not afford ; nor to the Club, which
had a specific name — the Zoological Club of the Linnean
Society of London — and was no more entitled to be called a
Society than is the Linnean Club or the Zoological Club of
the present day. It seems, therefore, permissible to conclude
that the speaker was really referring to some Society the
establishment of which for dealing exclusively with zoological
matters was in contemplation. This might well be the case,
for Sir Stamford Raffles visited England in 1816, and under

GEORGE THE FOURTH'S NUBIAN GIRAFFE. (See pp. 30, ^G.)

Cast of Statuette Modelled in Wax by S. Brown.

By kind permission of Mr. H. Dickenson Crompton.
Plate 2,

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 7

the date of the following year, just before his sailing for
Bencoolen is mentioned, his widow wrote \^

At this time he meditated the establishment of a society on the
principle of the Jardin des Plantes, which finally, on his last return from
the East, he succeeded in forming, in 1826, under the title of the Zoological
Society of London.

It has been asserted that, during this visit to England,
Sir Stamford broached the subject to Sir Joseph Banks, who,
according to a statement in the Athenoeum of March 4, 1905,
"expressed his warm approval of the proposal." This goes a
little beyond what Mr. Demetrius C. Boulger had published
in 1897 :

During his, Sir Stamford's, stay in 1817, he had discussed with Sir
Joseph Banks a plan for establishing in London a zoological collection
which should interest and amuse the publicf

If Sir Stamford did so mention the project to the President
of the Royal Society, it is readily conceivable that it was
discussed in scientific circles, and especially among the Fellows
of the Royal and Linnean Societies, to both of which the
Rev. W. Kirby belonged. But there is no evidence that any
such discussion took place ; and it is equally possible that
the Chairman of the Club was referring to a plan other than
that of Sir Stamford Raffles, perhaps of Sir Humphry Davy
or of some member of the Club. Reference to the quotations
hereafter given will negative the statement that Sir Stamford
Raffles intended " to interest and amuse the public." On this
point we have the direct testimony of his widow, who records
the fact J that he had not been many months in England —
he returned in August, 1824 — when

He suggested a plan to Sir Humphry Davy for the formation of a
zoological society which should combine with the pursuit of science the
introduction and domestication of such quadrupeds, birds, and fishes as
might be most likely to prove useful to agricultural and domestic
purposes.

It seems at least possible that there has been some
confusion between the two Presidents of the Royal Society,

* "Memoir of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, F.R.S.'* By his widow. London,
1830, p. 290.

t "Life of Sir Stamford Raffles," p. 341. + "Memoir," p. 589.

8 ^ THE ZOOLOOIGAL SOCIETY.

and that the suggestion made to Sir Humphry Davy has
been wrongly transferred to his predecessor, Sir Joseph Banks,
who was not referred to in this connection by Lady Raffles.

On relinquishing the chair, on November 29, 1826, Mr.
Bicheno set the example of an annual address, deeming it
" both useful and respectful." On that occasion, " surrounded
by some of the leading zoologists of the kingdom," he gave
a sketch of the progress of their science during the period
of his presidency. He referred in a short paragraph to "the
Zoological Society recently instituted in London," but said
nothing about its foundation or the men who took part in
the work.

Mr. Children followed the example thus set. Much of his
address is taken up with a description of the progress made
by the Zoological Society. In an account of its establishment
the following passage occurs:

The spirit of its immortal founder [Sir Stamford Raffles] has gone
forth, and will not fail to light up in every heart, capable of exalted
feelings, some portion of that fire which animated his own ; some wish,
some sacred hope of treading, with however unequal steps, in the path
he has so zealously marked out for them.

In Dr. Brookes's address there is no direct reference to the
foundation of tne Society, but there is incidental allusion to
Sir Stamford Raffles's gift of an example of the Rafflesian
squirrel* "to the museum of the Society which hails him
with just pride as its founder."

The address of Mr. N. A. Vigors, the first Secretary and
the last Chairman of the Club, and the first Secretary of the
Zoological Society, is the most important, inasmuch as it
distinctly claims that the members of the Club were, to say
the least, co-workers with Sir Stamford Raffles. Mr. Vigors
took an active part in the original formation of the Club ;
and, to use his own words, "he pronounced its requiem," so
that he spoke with authority. Having detailed the circum-
stances which led " the few leading zoologists of whom we

* This was described by Vigors and Horsfield in the Zoological Journal (iv.
112, pi. 4) as a new species under the name Sciurus rafflesii. It is now known that
the animal is the same as that described by Desmarest in 1820 as Sciurus prevosti.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 9

could at that time boast" to unite themselves into this
Club, and having alluded to what they had effected, he added
as a climax :

But it was in the impulse originally given by their exertions to the
propagation of science, more particularly by laying the foundation of the
Zoological Society, that powerful association which, with almost unlimited
resources, carried their principles and their objects into execution, that
their agency is to be traced.

An identical claim is made by Mr. Vigors when referring
to the dissolution of the Club:

We can hope, in fact, to merit or attain no further wreath by our
own exertions. The activity of those members who first promoted, and
subsequently contributed to the support of, this club has been called into
a wider and more useful sphere ; and to keep up the name and pre-
tensions of a scientific body, with diminished resources — but, above all,
to retain the character of representing the zoology of this country,
where a more efficient and legitimate representative of the science [the
Zoological Society], springing from ourselves, has left us little claim to
the dignity— would only serve to institute a striking contrast, of benefit
to neither party. We have, in fact, completed our work, and it is time
we should retire. The arch is rounded, and the keystone filled in, and
it is expedient that the humble scaffolding should be removed from all
incongruous juxtaposition with the noble edifice which it w^as mainly
instrumental in erecting.

In his peroration he again congratulated the Club on the
part the members had played in the establishment of the
Zoological Society:

On the eve of the dissolution of this club, it is a theme not merely
of consolation, but of triumph, that we have been the embryo of that
higher body which has now sprung into the perfect form. The individuals
who are now about to separate will carry in their recollection, to their
latest day, the share which they have had in this great consummation.
The occurrences of those evenings will ever be vivid in their memory
when, in conjunction with the illustrious founder and first president of
that Society, they suggested the auspiciousness of the times for such
an undertaking, and the probability, I should say the certainty, of
success. With what delight have we dwelt upon the words of that
great man when, with an intelligence that in a less enlightened age
might have passed for a spirit of prophecy, he portrayed, even to the
minutest details, the plans and the hopes which we have since seen
realised !

10 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY,

Mr. Vigors concluded with a glowing eulogy on the qualities
that marked out Sir Stamford Raffles as " the individual
most fitted to organize and preside over such a national
undertaking," and lauded the enthusiasm with which he devoted
himself to the cause — while more cautious calculators watching
the tide of events, prepared to retreat in misfortune, but ready
in case of success to " swell the triumph and partake the gale."
It is not improbable that the late Sir William Flower had
the substance of this Address in his mind when, at the meeting
in the Gardens on the occasion of Queen Victoria's Jubilee in
1887, he spoke of Sir Stamford Raffles as the leading spirit
of the active and zealous band who united together and
"subscribed and expended considerable sums of money for
the purpose " of founding the Zoological Society of London.

The story of the foundation of the Zoological Society has
to be pieced together from scanty materials, with the inevitable
consequence that there are breaches of continuity. From
the covering circular quoted on p. 13 it is evident that in
1824 a detailed prospectus of the objects of the Society was
circulated privately, and it probably differed in no important
particular from that printed on pp. 14-16. No copy of it is
now known to exist ; nor is there any record of the names of
" the friends of the proposed Society," who met in the July
of that year and nominated the Committee by whose authority
the corrected prospectus was published. In February, 1825
the following circular was issued :

It is proposed to establish a Society bearing the same relations to
Zoology and Animal Life that the Horticultural Society bears to Botany
and the Vegetable Kingdom.1

The object is to attempt the introduction of new races of Quadrupeds,
Birds, or Fishes, etc., applicable to purposes of utility, either in our Farm
Yards, Gardens, Woods, Waters, Lakes, or Rivers ; and to connect with
this object a general Zoological collection of prepared specimens.

The Admission Fee to the Society is Three Pounds, and the Annual
Subscription Two Pounds.

If it is your wish to be an original member of this Society, you
will be so good as to signify the same to Mr. T. Griffiths, 21,
Albemarle Street.

Two copies of this circular are preserved among some
papers formerly belonging to Mr. Yarrell, at No. 3, Hanover

O 35
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O N

CO 2

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THE ZOOLOOIGAL SOCIETY.

Square. One contains, on the second of the four pages, a
printed list of seventy-seven subscribers:

Marquess of Lansdowne
Earl of Egremont
Earl Spencer
Earl of Damley
Earl of Minto
Viscount Dudley-
Viscount Gage
Lord Stanley, M.P.
Lord Clifton, M.P.
Lord Lovaine, M.P.
Lord F. Leveson Gower, M.P.
Bishop of Carlisle
Eight Hon. Sir George Rose
Right Hon. Robert Peel, M.P.
Sir Humphry Davy, P.R.S.
Sir Stamford Raffles
Sir George Staunton, M.P.
Sir Everard Home
Sir Robert Inglis, M.P.
Gen. Sir R. Ferguson, M.P.
Sir Benjamin Hobhouse
Thomas Aston, Esq.
C. PhiUip Rose, Esq.
Baring Wall, Esq., M.P.
Adrian H. Haworth, Esq.
Dr. Harwood
Gerard de Vismes, Esq.
Walter Campbell, Esq., M.P.
Robert Ferguson, Esq.
Charles Bell, Esq.
Joshua Brookes, Esq.
P. Du Cane, Esq.
Professor Jack
E. J. Bennett, Esq., M.P.
J. S. Stephens, Esq.
Captain Mudge
W. Macleay, Esq.
The Duke of Bedford
Earl of Hardwicke

William Ord, Esq., M.P.

Dr. Thomas Horsfield

William Rose, Esq.

Charles Stokes, Esq.

Henry Cline, Esq.

Joseph Sabine, Esq,

H. T. Colebrooke, Esq.

Leicester Parker, Esq.

Right Hon. Sir Charles Long

J. T. Simes, Esq.

Major-Gen. Hardwicke

Alexander Baring, Esq., M.P.

Richard Heber, Esq., M.P.

T. A. Knight, Esq., P.H.S.

T. A. Knight, Esq., Junr.

Charles Hatchett, Esq.

W. T. Brande, Esq.

Francis Chantrey, Esq.

A. B. Lambert, Esq.

Davies Gilbert, Esq., M.P.

Dr. Frank

Hon. M. Percy, R.N.

Col. Cuff

Edward Barnard, Esq.

W. Vigors, Esq.

W. Kirby*

J. E. Bicheno, Esq.

N. W. Ridley Colboum, Esq.,

M.P.
R. Smirke, Esq.
— Alexander, Esq.
Mr. E. T. Gray
Rev. T. W. Hope
William Swainson, Esq.
Capt. Brooke de Capel Brooke
Thomas Cater, Esq.
R. Pettiward, Esq.
Hon. G. Agar EUis, M.P.
Sir Robert Heron

It is somewhat difficult to account for the order in
which these names occur. They might easily have been sent
to the printers arranged alphabetically, or according to social
status. But as neither method was followed, the only possible

* This should be Rev. W. Kirby. The same mistake occurs in the minutes of
the Committee meeting of June 22 ; there it is corrected in pencil.

THE ZOOLOQIOAL SOCIETY.

conclusion seems to be that they were entered in the order in
which the subscribers signified their adhesion to the project.
On that supposition, too, one would expect Sir Stamford
Raffles to head the list ; however, his name stands sixteenth,
immediately below that of Sir Humphry Davy.

In the second copy the following names, bringing the
number up to 151, are added in manuscript:

Earl of Lonsdale

Alex. Macleay, Esq.

Sir W. F. Middleton

Prof. G. C. Haughton

Earl of Mountmorris

Mr. a. B. Sowerby

W. J. Broderip, Esq.

T. HoWyn, Esq.

R. W. Newman, M.P.

J. G. CMldren, Esq.

Daniel Moore, Esq.

Bev. Dr. Goodenough

Right Hon. Lord Holland

Benj. King, Esq.

Dr. Such

Sir W. Rawson

S. H. Calcraft, Esq.

Hon. Col. Bligh

Benj. Brodie, Esq.

Lt.-Gen. Thornton

C. Calvert, Esq.

G. Pearson, M.D.

P. Snodgrass, Esq.

J. H. Slater, Esq.

Sir T. Dyke Acland

R. W. Coley, Esq., M.D.

8. Cartwright, Esq.

J. Cnrteis, Esq.

H. Jolliife, Esq., M.P.

Lord "Winchilsea

S. H. Clarke, Esq.

A. B. Vall^, Esq.

H. Warburton, Esq.

R. H. SoUy, Esq.

T. Macquoid, Esq.

G. C. Fox, Esq.

John Mangles, Esq.

F. Hodgson, Esq., M.P.
J. Wardrop, Esq.

R. Murchison, Esq.
Lord Clinton
Earl of Malmesbury
T. Hannison, Esq.
R. J. Alexander, Esq.
T. Bell, Esq.
Mr. E. Donovan
Capt. Mitford, R.N.
P. J. Selby, Esq.
George Selby, Esq.
T. A. Atkins, Esq.
T. C. Sowerby, Esq.
Sir J. Shelley
Hon. George Taunton
Sir T. Lawrence
Capt. E. Sabine
Rev. J. Guthrie
Duke of Somerset

G. B. Greenhough, Esq.
J. Thompson, Junr., Esq.
Earl Stanhope

Hon. W. S. Ponsonby
S. Amory, Esq.
Capt. T. 0. Travers
R. Courtenay, Esq.
Lord Selsey
P. T. Selley, Esq.
Robt. Barclay, Esq.
W. Harrison, Esq.
John Turner, Esq.
Robert Mangles, Esq.
Lord Calthorpe
B. B. Cabbell, Esq.
Sir Charles Coote, M.P.
Marquess of Hertford.

Practically 75 per cent, of these names recur in the first
printed List, bearing date January 1, 1829, and containing the

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

names of 1,294 ordinary Fellows and forty Honorary and
Corresponding Members. Among these subscribers are in-
cluded the first three Presidents (Sir Stamford Raffles, the
Marquess of Lansdowne, and Lord Stanley, afterwards the
thirteenth Earl of Derby), the four Yice-Presidents (Lord
Auckland, the Earl of Darnley, the Marquess of Lansdowne,
afterwards President, and the Duke of Somerset), the first
Treasurer (Mr. Joseph Sabine), the first Secretary and Vice-
Secretary (Mr. N. A. Vigors and Dr. T. Horsfield) ; the other
members of the Council, as well as the Committee originally
nominated in July, 1824, whose names are given on p. 14.
The next important documents in point of date are the
covering circular and prospectus:

ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

Foe the general advancement of Zoological Science, it is proposed that
a Society shall be established, the immediate object of which will be
the collection of such living subjects of the Animal Kingdom as may be
introduced and domesticated with advantage in this country.

For this purpose a collection of living animals belonging to the Society
will be established in the vicinity of the metropolis; to which the
members of the Society will have access as a matter of right, and the
public on such conditions as may be hereafter arranged.

It is proposed that the Society shall have a museum, as well as a
library of all books connected with the subject ; to which access will be
given to the members and the public as above stated.

As it is impossible to attain all the objects of the Society on its
first establishment, those of utility will engage its earliest attention, and
the more scientific views will be attended to as the means of the Society
admit.

The Society will be directed as other public Societies are— by a
President, Council, and Officers, and regulated by laws to be established
with the concurrence of the members of the Society.

A detailed Prospectus of the objects of this Society having been
circulated privately last year, a corrected copy is annexed.

The Terms of Admission to the Society will be Three Pounds, and the
Annual Subscription Two Pounds ; or the whole to be compounded for
on the usual terms.

A Committee of the following Noblemen and Gentlemen was originally
nominated by a meeting of friends of the proposed Society in July last,*
and the Prospectus is published under their authority.

* Sir Stamford's name must have been added before his arrival in England
he reached Plymouth on August 22, 1824.

14 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

Chairman : Sir Stamford Raffles.

Duke of Somerset
Earl of Darnley
Earl of Egremont
Earl of Malmesbury
Viscount Gage
Bishop of Carlisle
Lord Stanley-
Sir H. Davy
Sir Everard Home
E. Barnard, Esq.
H. T. Colebrooke, Esq.

Davies Gilbert, Esq.
Rev. Dr. Goodenough
Thos. Horsfield, Esq., M.D.
Rev. W. Kirby
T. A. Knight, Esq.
T. A. Knight, Jun., Esq.
W. Sharp MacLeaj^, Esq.
J. Sabine, Esq.
N. A. Vigors, Esq.
Chas. Baring Wall, Esq.

♦** Noblemen and Gentlemen desirous of becoming Members of this
Society are requested to give their names to any Member of the above
Committee, or to Mr. Griffiths, at the Royal Institution in Albemarle

Prospectus of a Society for introducing and domesticating
New Breeds or Varieties of Animals, such as Quadrupeds, Birds,
or Fishes, Hkely to be useful in Common Life ; and for forming
a General Collection in Zoology.

Zoology, which exhibits the nature and properties of animated beings,
their analogies to each other, the wonderful delicacy of their structure,
and the fitness of their organs to the peculiar purposes of their existence,
must be regarded not only as an interesting and intellectual study, but
as a most important branch of Natural Theology, teaching by the design
and wonderful results of organization the wisdom and power of the
Creator. In its relation to useful and immediate oeconomical purposes
it is no less important. The different races of animals employed in
social life, for labour, clothing, food, etc., are the direct objects of its
attention ; their improvement, the manner in which their number may
be increased, the application of their produce, and its connection with
various departments of industry and manufactures, are of the utmost
importance to Man, in every stage of his existence, but most so in
proportion as he advances in wealth, civilization, and refinement.

It has long been a matter of deep regret to the cultivators of Natural
History, that we possess no great scientific establishments either for teaching
or elucidating Zoology, and no public menageries or collections of living
animals, where their nature, properties, and habits may be studied. In
almost every other part of Europe, except in the metropolis of the
British empire, something of this kind exists ; but though richer than
any other country in the extent and variety of our possessions, and
having more facilities from our colonies, our fleets, and our varied and
constant intercourse with every quarter of the globe, for collecting
specimens and introducing living animals, we have as yet attempted

TBE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 15

little, and effected almost nothing ; and the student of Natural History,
or the philosopher who wishes to examine animated nature, has no other
resource but that of visiting and profiting by the magnificent institu-
tions of neighbouring countries.

In the hope of removing this opprobrium to our age and nation, it
is proposed to establish a Society bearing the same relation to Zoology
that the Horticultural does to Botany, and upon a similar principle and
plan. The great object should be, the introduction of new varieties,
breeds, and races of animals, for the purpose of domestication, or for
stocking our farm-yards, woods, pleasure-grounds, and wastes ; with the
establishment of a general Zoological Collection, consisting of prepared
specimens in the different classes and orders, so as to afford a correct
view of the Animal Kingdom at large in as complete a series as may
be practicable, and at the same time point out the analogies between the
animals already domesticated and those which are similar in character,
upon which the first experiments may be made.

To promote these objects, a piece of ground should be provided in
the neighbourhood of the metropolis, affording sufficient accommodation
for the above purposes; with a suitable establishment so conducted as
to admit of its extension on additional means being afforded.

As it is presumed that a number of persons would feel disposed to
encourage an institution of this kind, it is proposed to make the Annual
Subscription from each individual only Two Pounds, and the Admission
Fee Three Pounds. The Members, of course, will have free and constant
access to the Collections and Grounds, and might, at a reasonable price,
be furnished with living specimens, or the ova of fishes and birds.*

When it is considered how few amongst the immense variety of
animated beings have been hitherto applied to the uses of Man, and
that most of those which have been domesticated or subdued belong to
the early periods of society, and to the efforts of savage or uncultivated
nations, t it is impossible not to hope for many new, brilliant, and
useful results in the same field, by the application of the wealth,
ingenuity, and varied resources of a civilized people.

* There appears to be no record of fish culture in connection with the
Zoological Society or of fish ova being sent to any of the Fellows. Some ponds
at Carshalton were visited with a view to renting or purchasing them as a
favourable site for experiments of this kind, but the owner, in a letter to the
Council in May, 1826, declined further negotiations. From an account of the
operation of stripping fish and fecundating the ova, in Sir Humphry Davy's
" Salmonia," it seems probable that the plan was due to him ; and he and
Sir Stamford RaflEles formed the committee that visited and reported on the
Carshalton ponds.

t We owe the peacock and common fowl to the natives of India ; most of
our races of cattle, and swans, geese, and ducks, to the aborigines of Europe ;
the turkey to the natives of America ; the guinea-fowl to those of Africa. The
pike and carp, with some other fishes, were probably introduced by the monks. —
Original Note to Circular.

16 TEE ZOOLOGIOAL SOCIETY.

It is well known with respect to most of the Animal Tribes, that
domestication is a process which requires time ; that the offspring of
wild animals raised in a domestic state are more easily tamed than their
parents ; and that in a certain number of generations the effect is made
permanent, and connected with a change, not merely in the habits but
even in the nature of the animal. The inconveniences of migration may
be, in certain cases, prevented, and the wildest animals, when supplied
abundantly with food, may lose the instinct of locomotion, and their
offspring acquire new habits ; and it is known that a breed, fairly
domesticated, is with difficulty brought back to its original state
Should the Society flourish and succeed, it will not only be useful in
common life, but would likewise promote the best and most extensive
objects of the Scientific History of Animated Nature, and offer a collection
of living animals such as never yet existed in ancient or modern times*
Rome, at the period of her greatest splendour, brought savage monsters
from every quarter of the world then known, to be shown in her
amphitheatres, to destroy or be destroyed as spectacles of wonder to
her citizens. It would well become Britain to offer another, and a very
different series of exhibitions to the population of her metropolis ; namely,
animals brought from every part of the globe to be applied either to
some useful purpose, or as objects of scientific research, not of vulgar
admiration. Upon such an institution a philosophy of Zoology may be
founded, pointing out the comparative anatomy, the habits of life, the
improvement and the methods of multiplying those races of animals
which are most useful to man, and thus fixing a most beautiful and
important branch of knowledge on the permanent basis of direct
utility.

March 1st, 1825.

A few days after the date of this prospectus, Sir Stamford
wrote to his cousin, the Rev. Thomas Raffles, D.D., of Liverpool,
on the subject.

LowEE Geosvenor Street, March 9, 1825.
I am much interested at present in establishing a grand zoological
collection in the metropolis, with a Society for the introduction of living
animals, bearing the same relations to Zoology as a science, that the
Horticultural Society does to Botany. The prospectus is drawn out, and
when a few copies are printed I will send some to you. We hope to have
2,000 subscribers at £2 each ; and it is further expected we may go far
beyond the Jardin des Plantes at Paris. Sir Humphry Davy* and myself
are the projectors, and while he looks more to the practical and immediate
utility to the country gentlemen, my attention is more directed to the
scientific department-!

* This appears conclusive evidence against the view that Sir Stamford EaflSes
was the sole founder.

t " Memoir of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles," pp. 592, 693.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 17

In a later letter there is a more raodest estimate of the
number of original members, and it was not till 1831 that the
Fellowship roll included 2,000 names. The foregoing letter is of
considerable interest, as it contains the first known reference
by Sir Stamford Raffles to the Jardin des Plantes.

About the end of April Sir Humphry Davy went into the
country and left with Sir Stamford Raffles the " list of names
in support of the plan for extending our zoological re-
searches," so that he might add the names of as many of his
friends as were desirous of supporting it. In a letter dated
April 28, to Sir R. H. Inglis inviting his co-operation, Sir
Stamford wrote :

In the first instance we look mainly to the country gentlemen for
support, in point of numbers ; but the character of the institution must
of course, depend on the proportion of men of science and sound
principles which it contains. I look more to the scientific part, and
propose, if it is established on a respectable footing, to transfer to it the
collection in natural history which I have brought home with me.*

The only other record for this year consists of the minutes
of a meeting " of the original proposers of the Society " at the
rooms of the Horticultural Society on June 22. The Earl of
Darnley was the Chairman, and a Committee was appointed
to further the project. Its constitution was identical with that
appointed in July, 1824 (p. 14). Messrs. Drummond were ap-
pointed bankers ; and it was resolved that the meeting " be
advertised when the number of its members amounted to
two hundred."

From this date there appear to be no records till those of the
Committee Meeting held on February 26, 1826, for " taking into
consideration the plan of the proposed Society." Sir Stamford
Raffles was the Chairman, and the other members were the
Duke of Somerset, the Earl of Darnlej^ Sir Humphry Davy,
Sir Everard Home, Dr. Horsfield, Mr. Davies Gilbert, Mr. Joseph
Sabine, and Mr. N. A. Vigors. Lord Auckland, Sir Robert Inglis,
and Dr. Harewood were also present, though only as visitors. It
was agreed that the official designation of the new body should
be " The Zoological Society of London " ; and that an application
should be made to the Government for an allotment of ground

: * "Memoir of Sir Thomas Stamford Eaffles, r.R.S.," p. 590.
C

18 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

in the Regent's Park suitable to the purposes of the Institution.
The task of drawing up a prospectus was entrusted to Sir
Stamford Raffles, Mr. Sabine, and Mr. Vigors. It was an instruc-
tion to them that, as the objects of the Society must be limited
by its means, these should not, in the first instance, extend
beyond the introduction and domestication of new breeds of
animals, with a Museum and Library to be attached as soon as
its resources may admit. They were also to present a report " on
the present state and progress of Natural History, especially
Zoology, with an account of the institutions by which it is en-
couraged on the Continent, and showing the necessity of some
similar establishment in this country, so as to place the interests
of the science on a footing at least equal to that on which they
stand elsewhere."

Another meeting was held on March 4, but little if any-
thing was done. On March 17, however, an application was made
by Lord Auckland and Sir Stamford Raffles to Mr. Arbuthnot,
one of the Commissioners of Woods and Forests, for a grant of
land from the Crown. This was not the first application
for on the previous day they had " visited the piece of ground
abutting the Regent's Canal." They expressed the opinion that
that piece of nd was " liable to many objections, and that it
was possible upon further consideration that the Crown might
be induced to let us have ground still more adapted to our pur-
pose." A request had evidently been made to them by the Crown
Office for some definite information, which is thus conveyed :

Our first plan would be to have a garden laid out in aviaries, paddocks
for deer, antelopes, etc., stabularies for such animals as may require them,
lodges and perhaps suitable apartments for the Society to meet in ; and, if
possible, pieces of water for fish and aquatic birds. Our buildings would
for the most part be low, and in no case ofi'ensive, and the plans will be
readily submitted to you. As we find support from the public, we should
eventually wish to have a museum attached to it whenever our finances
admit, and this would of course be on such a scale and plan as would
render it ornamental and suitable to the situation.

They asked that, in the first instance, five or six acres in
" the centre of the ring marked letter A"^ might be granted to

♦ It is difl&cult to identify the spot thus indicated, for the marked plan has
disappeared. But that it was " in the centre of the Eegent's Park " is shown by
the oflBcial reply to the application.

PLATE II.

THE TERRACE, FROM THE MAIN ENTRANCE.

(See p. 31.)

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 19

the Society about to be formed, and suggested that the whole
plot might be reserved for a future grant, as the proposers
contemplated the possibiHty of forming

on this advantageous site, so admirably adapted for the purpose, an Estab-
lishment which will embrace the united interests of Zoology and Botany.
And certainly nothing would be more creditable to the scientific character
of the nation, and at the same time more ornamental to the Park itself,
than a plan which should provide for the accommodation of the Zoological
Department in the centre of the before-mentioned plot, and the appro-
priation of the surrounding ground to the purposes of a Botanic Garden.

From this quotation one may see in what characters the new
Society was intended to resemble the Jardin des Plantes. As
in the older establishment, there was to be a collection of animals
in or connected with a botanic garden, and a museum was to be
added. But something more than this would be necessary to
complete the analogy — endowment for teaching natural history
in the wide sense of the term. Had the plan here outlined been
realised, the result would have been — not a miniature Jardin des
Plantes, but a Garden something like that at Amsterdam or
Rotterdam, though without any provision for recreation, in the
shape of fetes, concerts, or exhibitions.

Objections were raised by the Crown OiBBce, and on April 7
Lord Auckland, Sir Humphry Davy, and Sir Stamford Raffles
applied for " twenty acres in the north-east corner of the Park."
In their letter they say " it may be advisable for us to apply
to the Crown for such a Charter as may enable us to hold
land " ; but in the meantime they ask that a lease may be
granted. To show that the Society would not interfere with
existing interests, they add: "We are happy to state that
Mr. Cross, of Exeter 'Change, has offered his lamas and birds
and such part of his collection as we may choose, to the
Society, with a tender of his services in promoting our views."

On April 24 invitations to the first General Meeting were
sent out. The copy addressed to Yarrell, bearing an autograph
note of his "First General Meeting," is still in existence. It
runs thus:

SiK,— I have the honour to inform you that a General Meeting of the
Friends and Subscribers to the proposed Zoological Society will be held
at the Rooms of the Horticultural Society, Regent Street, on Saturday the

20 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

2Qth tnst. next at one o'clock, when the favour of your attendance is
requested. I have the honour to be, sir, your obedient humble servant,
Grosvenor Street, 24th April, 1826. S. T. Baffles.

Wm, Yarrellf Esq.y etc. etc.

The words in italics are in Sir Stamford's handwriting,
showing that the date was not fixed when the circulars were
printed, nor was the arrangement with the Horticultural Society
announced till the Committee Meeting of April 28. Then it
was also reported that the prospectus " had been printed and
circulated among persons likely to favour the interests of the
Society." No copy of this document is known at the Society's
offices. But that it was practically identical with the issue of
March 1, 1825, seems clear from the fact that the principal
resolutions drafted at this meeting, and proposed and carried at
the General Meeting on the following day, were intended to give
effect to the ideas therein set forth. The Keport asked for in
February (see p. 18) does not appear to have been presented, if
indeed it was drawn up. At this April Committee Meeting
Sir Stamford Raffles announced that he had " engaged an office
at No. 4, Regent Street, for the transaction of the affairs of
the Society."

The first General Meeting was held at the House of the
Horticultural Society, Regent Street, on April 29, and about a
hundred persons were present, but only Sir Stamford Raffles,
Lord Lansdowne, and the Lord Mayor are mentioned, the rest
being covered by an " etc." Sir Stamford was called to the chair,
on the motion of Sir Humphry Davy ; and, after some formal
business, the following resolutions were proposed by the Chairman
and carried unanimously:

I. That a Society to be designated the " Zoological Society " be instituted
for the advancement of zoological knowledge.

II. That the attention of the Society be directed to the following
objects : The formation of a collection of living animals ; a museum of
preserved animals, with a collection of comparative anatomy ; and a library
connected with the subject.

HI. That the Society shall consist of such members as have already
subscribed their names as desirous of joining the Society, or who shall do
so on or before the 1st of January next, with the approbation of the
Council and of such other members as shall subsequently be admitted
by ballot.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

IV. That the funds of the Society shall consist of the admission fees
and annual contributions of the Members, together with such donations as
may be received in furtherance of the objects of the Society.

V. That the affairs of the Society shall be directed by a President,
Treasurer, Secretary, and Council, the officers being members of the Council.

VI. That the Council shall consist of eighteen Members, exclusive of
the officers, and five shall be a quorum.

VII. That the President shall nominate Vice-Presidents from the
Council.

VIII. That the President of the Royal Society, the Presidents of the
Linnean and Horticultural Societies, and the Presidents of the Colleges
of Physicians and Surgeons for the time being shall be ex officio members
of the Society.*

IX. That the Council shall have the management of the Society during
the first year, at the end of which, or sooner, they shall submit to the
Members detailed regulations for the government of the Society.

X. The President, Secretary, and Treasurer shall form a Standing
Committee for the charge of the collections and for receiving such presents
as may be made to the Society.

XI. That committees shall be appointed from time to time for the
superintendence and direction of the different departments of the Society's
establishment.

XII. That the property and effects of the Society shall be vested in
three or more Trustees.

XIII. That Members admitted on or before the 1st of January next
shall be considered as original members, and shall pay for admission fee
and subscription for the present year the sum of five pounds, and two
pounds annually, coinmencing in January, 1827, or the sum of £25 as
a. donation. t

Sir Stamford Raffles was elected President by acclamation,
and the following noblemen and gentlemen were chosen to
serve on the Council : the Duke of Somerset, the Marquess of
Lansdowne, the Earl of Darnley, the Earl of Egremont, Viscount
Gage, Lord Auckland, Lord Stanley (afterwards thirteenth
Earl of Derhy), Sir Humphry Davy, Sir Everard Home, Rev.
Dr. Goodenough, Dr. Thomas Horsfield (Assistant Secretary),
and Messrs. Edward Barnard, J. E. Bicheno, J. G. Children,

* From the draft submitted and approved at the Committee Meeting of April 28
it appears that the first intention was to make these honorary members also members
of Council. The list has since been increased, and now includes in addition to those
given above : The Presidents of the Geological and Royal Botanic Societies, the
Royal Institution and the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, the Principal of
the Royal Veterinary College, and the Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company.

t This was a composition fee for life-membership.

22 TEE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

H. T. Colebrooke, G. B. Greenliougli, Joseph Sabine (Treasurer),
Charles Stokes, N. A. Vigors (Secretary), and Charles Baring
Wall, M.P.

It is recorded in the minutes that " the President then
proceeded to read an opening address to the Society, in which
he took a review of the past and present state of zoology in this
country, and entered into a detail of the objects and plans of
the Society." It seems probable that this address was never
printed, and that the manuscript has been lost. There is no
reference to it in Lady Raffles's " Memoir," and the late Rev. R.
Blanchard Raffles, who made a special study of the early history
of the Society, was unable to trace it. Mr. Demetrius C. Boulger,
his literary executor, who summarised his results in the
Athenceum (March 4, 18, 1905), says, " No copy of Sir Stamford's
address has yet been found." It is, perhaps, unnecessary to
add that nothing is known of it at the Society's offices.

The tone of the following extract from the Literary Gazette
(May 26, 1826, p. 282) leaves a good deal to be desired, but the
paragraph is important, for it contains independent evidence of
the existence of a manuscript. It may be noted that the point
to which the writer gives prominence is that attributed to
Sir Humphry Davy* — the introduction and domestication of
new forms :

Zoological, oe Noah's Ark Society.
A public meeting took place on Saturday last (April 29) at the rooms of
the Horticultural Society, at which about a hundred persons were present.
Sir Stamford Raffles was called to the chair, and read an address recommend-
ing the formation of a society the object of which should be to import new
birds, beasts and fishes into this country from foreign parts. The Regent's
Park is to be headquarters ; though if the subscriptions amount to a
sufficient sum, it is hoped that strange reptiles may be propagated all over
the kingdom. But there is neither wisdom nor folly new under the sun.
Worthy Dr. Plot informs us in his History of Oxfordshire that King Henry
the First enclosed the park at Wvdestoc " with a wall, though not for deer^
but all foreign wild beasts^ such as lions, leopards, camels, linx's, which he
procured abroad of other princes ; amongst which more particularly, says
William of Malmeshury, he kept a porcupine hispidis setis coopertam, quas
in canes insectantes naturaliter emittunt, i.e. covered over with sharp-pointed
quills, which they naturally shoot at the dogs that hunt them." This is
the first British National Menagerie that we have read of : the Romans

* See Note from " Collected Works of Sir H. Davy," on p. 24.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 23

were much addicted to wild beast shows. Considering the advanced state
of knowledge, it is to be expected that the new Zoological Association will
beat both the Romans and King Henry, in spite of his porcupine ; though
we do not know how the inhabitants of the Regent's Park will like the
lions, leopards, and linxes so near their neighbourhood.

The Gazette afterwards became quite sympathetic.

On May 5, Committees were appointed (1) to frame bye-laws,

(2) to acquire a site for breeding fishes and rearing waterfowl,

(3) to manage the grounds in Regent's Park, (4) the Menagerie,
(5) the Museum, and (6) to form a library. On the first four the
President had a seat. The first animals to come into the possession
of the Society were a griffon vulture and a white-headed eagle,
presented by Mr. Joshua Brookes, of the celebrated Anatomical
School in Blenheim Street ; and " a female deer from Sanger,"
the gift of Captain Pearl. This vulture was known to the older
keepers as " Dr. Brookes," and must have lived in the Menagerie
for nearly forty years. In 1869 Mr. W. B. Tegetmeier, writing
in the Field (May 5), referred to it as having " died recently."
At this time no keepers were engaged ; and arrangements were
made with those at the Tower and Exeter 'Change " for taking
charge of such animals as may come into the possession of the
Society till their own establishment is completed."

In May four Vice-Presidents (Lord Auckland, the Earl of
Darnley, the Marquess of Lansdowne, and the Duke of Somerset)
were appointed. A month later, No. 33, Bruton Street was taken
for offices and a Museum, and here some animals were kept till
the Gardens were opened. Then, of course, most of them were
transferred to Regent's Park ; but for some time afterwards the
house was used for such species as needed special care. At the
end of June the plans of Decimus Burton for the Gardens were
approved ; the sum of £5,000 was appropriated for carrying them
into execution, and £1,000 for the Museum. Cross offered his
services for the management of the Menagerie, at the same time
proposing that the Society should purchase his collection, but the
suggestion was not favourably considered.

The death of Sir Stamford Rafiles from apoplexy took place
at Highwood, Hendon, on July 6. At the Council meeting
two days later the Duke of Somerset, who presided, announced
that the Members " had been summoned in consequence of the

24 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

sudden and lamented death of their President." In the words
of the minute :

His Grace suggested that under the present depressing circumstances,
and at this unfavourable season of the year, it would be inexpedient to
take any steps to fill up the vacancy that has occurred with so great a loss
to the Society, and proposed that the Vice-Presidents who may be in town
during the summer months be requested to superintend the execution of
the plans already commenced under the direction of their late President.

The Society published no other obituary notice. Sir
Humphry Davy, in his capacity of President of the Royal Society,
of which Sir Stamford was a Fellow, furnished a short biography
of his friend and fellow-worker, of which the following paragraph
forms part:

Having lost one splendid collection by fire* he instantly commenced
the formation of another ; and having brought this to Europe, he made it
not private, but public property, and placed it entirely at the disposal of a
New Association t for the promotion of zoology, of which he had been
chosen President by acclamation.

Little beyond draining and planting was done this year in the
grounds in the Park ; but work was actively carried on at the
Museum in Bruton Street. Addressing the Zoological Club of
the Linnean Society on November 29, Mr. Bicheno said :

The Zoological Society, recently instituted in London, contemplates a
more practical cultivation of science than any other which exists. They
not only meditate the establishment of a museum, which has already been
enriched by the private collection of Mr. Vigors and the Sumatran collection
of the late Sir Stamford Raffles ; but every exertion will also be made to
obtain an osteological collection, and in the end to establish a Menagerie,
Aviary, and Piscina. Every lover of Natural History will rejoice to hear
that their Museum will be open to the public in the ensuing spring.

At the close of the year there were 342 members, whose sub-
scriptions, with those received in 1825, amounted to £1,829, and
the expenditure was £679.

* The vessel in which Sir Stamford Raffles embarked for England in 1824 took
fire when fifty miles out from Sumatra. The passengers and crew escaped in the
"boats, but Sir Stamford's natural history collections and living animals were burnt.

t The Zoological Society : of this association the author [i.e. Sir H. Davy] was
one of the warmest promoters ; he was concerned in forming the plan on which it
was established, and the first address to the public, announcing it and soliciting
support for it, was from his pen. — " Collected Works of Sir H. Davy," vii. 91
Editor's Note.

Llama House, 1829. (See 11. 37.)

Courtyard. (See p. 37.)

Pelicans' Enclosure. (See p. 41.)
From the " Zoological Keepsake."

Plate 5.

CHAPTER II.

1827—1830.

These four years constituted a period of preparation for the
scientific^ work of the Societj^, and witnessed the formation of
the Museum, the laying out and opening of the Garden — for
at first there was but one — and the experiment of a breeding
farm.

The first important business was the election of a new Presi-
dent : the Marquess of Lansdowne was chosen, and held office
till he retired in 1831. At the same meeting Dr. Rafiles was
elected into the Council. Ladies were declared eligible for mem-
bership ; and it was resolved that those who were proposed by
any member of the Council " should be admitted to the Society
on the same terms and with the same privileges as Gentlemen
Subscribers." At the same time it was determined to elect
Corresponding Members to further the objects of the Society
in foreign parts or in the provinces, and fifteen were chosen,
among whom was Captain G. F. Lyon, the commander of the
Hecla in the expedition under Captain W. E. Parry for the
discovery of a North-west passage.

Thanks to Yarrell's methodical habits, one of the first
circulars of instructions to Corresponding Members has been
preserved ; it is worth quoting to show what was expected from
those on whom the honour was conferred :

* This epithet is employed in a wide sense, so as to include bionomical work of
all kinds on farm and menagerie stock as well as in the laboratory. Had the early
practice of the Society been continuously carried out, Regent's Park might have
claimed to be free from Professor Ray Lankester's reproach {Ency. Brit, xxiv, 817)
that the science of Zoological Gardens is that of the morphographer and systematist
rather than of the bionomist— of the worker on dead structure and the cataloguer
and classifier, rather than of the student of living animals who seeks to correlate
them, and fit each into its appropriate niche in the scheme of things.

S6 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

Zoological Society, 33, Bruton Street,
1827.

Sir,— I take the liberty, with the sanction of
of sending to you the last report* of the Zoological Society.

It is possible that, in the course of your residence at
opportunities of promoting our views and objects may occur to you, and
that you may be able to send to us occasionally, and at a very inconsider-
able expense, specimens of subjects in Zoology of much curiosity and
interest.

Living specimens of all rare animals, and particularly of such as may
possibly be domesticated and become useful here, will be much valued by
us ; and above all varieties of the Deer kind, and of gallinaceous Birds ;
but beyond this preserved insects, reptiles, birds, mammalia, fishes, eggs,
and shells will be gratefully received.

And I may mention that where a more scientific method does not
occur, the promiscuous immersion of any number of subjects in a tub
of strong brine (feathers, bodies, and all) will be sufficient for preservation,
not quite effectual perhaps for the skins in all instances, but perfectly so
for purposes of j dissection and comparative anatomy.

Then followed a paragraph on the necessity of confining expenses
within the narrowest limits, and the advisability of consulting
the authorities at home before incurring any considerable charge.
Practical directions for preserving animals, skins, skeletons,
and fossils, and packing specimens of all kinds, were also sent
to collectors abroad.

The circular, dated on the day of the new President's election,
is important, in that it negatives the idea that the foundation
was the work of any one individual. It opens with the state-
ment that

This Society was instituted in 1826 under the auspices of Sir T. Stam-
ford Baffles, Sir Humphry Davy, Bart., and other eminent individuals, for
the advancement of Zoology, and the introduction and exhibition of
subjects of the Animal Kingdom alive or in a state of preservation.

The public were informed that the Gardens in Kegent's Park
had been pegged out, and that workmen were actively employed
upon them. Those interested in the project were invited to
inspect the plans and drawings at Bruton Street, and the hope
was expressed that the Gardens would be opened in the course
of the summer.

* The first Report printed appears to be that presented by the Council to the
General Meeting held April 29, 1829. Yarrell's copy, now in the possession of the
Society, bears on the title the word" First " in his handwriting.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 27

On April 24 Lady Raffles transferred Sir Stamford's Sumatran
collection to the Society's Museum, stipulating that every subject
should be distinguished by a particular mark, and that a separate
catalogue should be printed. The property was to remain vested
in the representatives of the late President, and in the event of
any breach in the Society to revert to the family. Thereupon
Lady Raffles was elected an Honorary Member — the only lady
who has received that distinction.

The Anniversary Meeting was held on May 19 at the Rooms
of the Horticultural Society. According to the Gentleman's
Magazine (1827, i. 443) it was very numerously attended, and
among those present were Earl Spencer, the Earls of Malmesbury
and Carnarvon, Lord Auckland, the Marquis of Carmarthen, the
Bishop of Bath and Wells, Sir Everard Home, Sir Robert Heron,
M.P., Sir John de Beauvoir, and Mr. Baring Wall, M.P. The
President announced that the works in the Regent's Park were
rapidly advancing ; the walks were laid out and partly made, and
pheasantries and aviaries, with sheds and enclosures for some of
the rarer animals, in active progress. The number of subscribers
exceeded 500 and was daily increasing, and "it was expected
that the gardens would possess sufficient interest to authorise
the opening of them during the ensuing autumn."

At this time there were no scientific meetings, but the
monthly business meetings gradually assumed something of that
character. Donations to the Museum were exhibited and briefly
described ; and the following extract shows that formal com-
munications might be made, though the Society as yet possessed
no organ for publication :

June 22, 1827. — This evening C. B[onaparte] called with some
gentlemen, among whom were Messrs. Vigors, Children, Featherstone-
haugh, and Lord Clifton. My portfolios were opened before the set of
learned men, and they saw many birds they had not dreamed of. Charles
offered to name them for me, and I felt happy that he should ; and with
a pencil he actually christened upwards of fifty, urging me to publish
them at once in manuscript at the Zoological Society.*

In July the plan of Decimus Burton was lithographed for
distribution. This showed the proposed arrangement of the
ground, and the style and location of the different houses, sheds,

* "Audubon and his Journals," i. 257.

THE ZOOLOOIOAL SOCIETY.

aviaries, etc. Few copies can be traced now ; but, fortunately, it
was reproduced in the Literary Gazette with some descriptive
text, and the editorial remark that "it may be a subject of
interest to look back to the infant state of this establishment at
a future day, when it shall have attained that extent and import-
ance, suited to the scientific views of the nation that supports it,
which is now sanguinely, and with good grounds, anticipated."

UBLIC DRIVE ROUN&°''^'THEREGENT'S PARK

DECIMUS BURTON'S PLAN OF THE GROUND,

This is a pleasant contrast to the paragraph quoted from the
same source on pp. 22, 23.

Then the larger animals had been removed from Bruton
Street to the Park. Some monkeys, however, remained, and
of one kept in the office the clerk reported that it had par-
tially destroyed a book of vouchers, which had occasioned a
deficiency. That monkey was unjustly blamed, but its character
was eventually cleared.^

* While these pages were passing through the press this fiction was paralleled
hy the destruction of some scrip hy a monkey in the Bank of France. About the
same time it was stated in evidence before the Koyal Commission to enquire into
the contracts, sales, and refunds to contractors in South Africa, that the auditors
vere unable to obtain some important documents on account of their destruction
by rats.

Repository. (Seep.ii.)

Rabbits and Armadillos. (Seep. 40.)

Zoological Gardens, Regents Park. (Seep. 55.)
From the " Penny Magazine," December 16, 1837.

Polar Bear. (See p. 39.)
From the "Mirror," 1832.

Monkey and Pole.
(See p. 39.)

Plate 6.

lit

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 29

One would like to know if tliis were the monkey described
by Broderip in his "Zoological Recreations."

There was one [Wanderoo monkey] in the Zoological Society's col-
jection, then in its infancy, in Bruton Street, and a right merry fellow
was he. He would run up his pole and throw himself over the crossbar,
so as to swing backwards and forwards as he hung suspended by the
chain which held the leather strap that girt his loins. The expression
of his countenance was peculiarly innocent ; but he was sly, very sly, and
not to be approached with impunity by those who valued their headgear.
He would sit demurely on his cross-perch, pretending to look another
way, or to examine a nut-shell for some remnants of kernel, till a proper
victim came within his reach ; when down the pole he rushed, and up he
was again in the twinkling of an eye, leaving the bareheaded surprised one
minus his hat, at least, which he had the satisfaction of seeing under-
going a variety of metamorphoses under the plastic hands of the grinning
ravisher. ... It was whispered — horrescimus referentes — that he once
scalped a bishop, who ventured too near, notwithstanding the caution
given to his lordship by another dignitary of the Church, and that it
was some time before he could be made to give up, with much mowing
and chattering, the well-powdered wig which he had transferred from
the sacred poll to his own.

In Children's address to the Zoological Club of the Linnean
Society on November 29, 1827, he announced that arrangements
were being made for the transfer to the Zoological Society of the
lake and its islands near Regent's Park^ for the breeding, rearing,
and preserving of waterfowl, and of a plot of ground on which
to erect suitable offices and farmyards for breeding and domesti-
cating poultry. The right of entry to the walks and ornamental
grounds on the west side of the Park was accorded to the Mem-
bers about this time, and these were referred to as " privileges of
essential importance to the Society, and gratifying proofs of the
interest that His Majesty's Government takes in its welfare."

From the same source we learn that in the Menagerie and
Gardens (not yet open to the public) nearly two hundred living
animals were exhibited in suitable paddocks, dens, and aviaries ;
" as two beautiful llamas, a leopard, kangaroos, a Russian bear,
ratel, ichneumons, &c., (fee, besides a pair of emus, cranes, gulls,
gannets, corvorants, various gallinaceous birds, and many others."
Of course, the Members had free access to the grounds, as they
had to the Museum, with the privilege of introducing two friends.

* The large lake, near the grounds of the Royal Botanic Society.

30 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

Another interesting event was referred to in this address —
the recent gift by Mohammed Ali to George IV. of a young
Nubian giraffe, the first example of the species brought alive to
England. The merchant vessel conveying the giraffe and the
cows which provided it with milk arrived at the wharf by
Waterloo Bridge on Saturday, August 11, 1827, and the animals
were at once stabled in a warehouse under the Duchy of
Lancaster office. Here they remained in charge of the native
keepers till Monday, when Mr. Cross took them to Windsor in a
caravan, and the giraffe was lodged in a commodious hut, with
the range of a spacious paddock at the Sandpit Gate. It was
then about a year and a half old, and stood 10 ft. 8 in. high."^

In the Literary Gazette (December 1, 1827) R. B. Davis, who
had many opportunities of closely observing the animal while
painting its portrait for George IV., described its limbs as
deformed by the treatment it had experienced at the hands of
the Arabs on the overland journey from Sennaar to Cairo. It
was occasionally confined on the back of a camel ; and when
" they huddled it together for this purpose they were not nice in
the choice of cords or the mode of applying them." f While
the artist was at work he observed that the giraffe still bore the
marks of what it must have suffered, though it was improving
in form and the joints were losing their disproportion to the
limbs. It was probably at this time that he noticed there were
" no teeth or nippers in the upper jaw," and that the two outside
ones [in the lower jaw] were " divided to the socket." This
division or lobation attracted no attention from naturalists till its
rediscovery by Prof. Ray Lankester, who used it in proof of the
relationship of the giraffe to the okapi,t in which the teeth
are similarly lobed.

Although formal possession of the lake was not given to the

* The Literary Gazette of August 25, 1827, from which these particulars are
taken, has this note : In 1810 a white camel was imported, with an elephant,
into this country. This white camel being a novelty, the proprietor, then living
in Piccadilly, turned his attention to making it still more of a novelty, caused
it to be artificially spotted, and produced it to the public as " a camelopard just
arrived."

t This seems to have been the normal mode of transport adopted by the Arabs
at that time. The giraffes obtained by Warwick for the Surrey Gardens were
treated in a similar way.

X Tramaetiona of the Zoological Society, xvi. 290.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 31

Society by the Crown Office till April, 1828, it was stocked before
this time ; for the first sheet of " Occurrences " received at No.
33, Bruton Street, on February 25, contained a reference to it
among other particulars :

Menagerie. — Received eleven wild ducks from the Lake, caught for
the purpose of pinioning, and then to be returned.

Received six silver-haired rabbits from Mr. Blake.

Otter died, in consequence of a diseased tail.

Emu laid her fourth egg on the 24th.

All animals and birds well.
Works.— Pit for bear, house for llamas in progress.

Boundary wall for supporting the bank next the bear's pit begun.
Servants. —All on duty.
No. OF Visitors.— Four.
Particular Visitor.— Lord Auckland.

Since that time a similar sheet, recording the principal events
of the preceding day, signed by the chief officer at the Gardens,
has been sent every morning to the office, where these are
preserved in yearly volumes. A duplicate set is kept at the
Superintendent's office at the Gardens. With the growth of the
establishment the form has been somewhat varied to allow of
other details and fuller particulars being given, such as the
various occupations of the workmen, the amount of money
taken, the weather, temperature of the houses, etc.

Mr. Edward Amend Johnson was appointed Superintendent
and Assistant Secretary on April 27, and the Gardens were opened
to the public on payment. The resolution of the Council on this
subject was to the effect that " Strangers be admitted to the
Gardens by the written Order of a Fellow on payment of Is.
each, the holder of such order or ticket to be allowed to intro-
duce any number of companions at Is. each." As will be seen
from the Order reproduced on the next page, only Fellows were
admitted to the Gardens or Museum on Sundays.

This is the earliest form of the ticket known, but the Fellow
who signed it did not join the Society till February, 1829.

The visitor entering the Garden on that April morning, from
the Public Drive, as the Outer Circle was then called, would pass
a rustic lodge, on the spot now occupied by the Main Entrance.
Part of the Terrace was laid out, and the bear pit built, as was
the llama house on the left. To the right of the Terrace was

32 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

pasture land, and the boundary ran in a direct line from the
western side of the bear pit to the opposite hedge, the intention
at first being to continue the Terrace right across. On the left
walks were made, and some ponds for waterfowl constructed,
while a good many movable dens and cages were dotted about
on the green turf.

No detailed description of the condition of the Garden as a
whole has come down to us ; but an official circular of April 29,
1828, speaks of it as " in considerable forwardness " and for some

ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

ADMIT AND PARTY,

TO THE GARDENS^ REG^XVT'S PARK^

BY ORDER OF

'^n/

ADMIT AND PARTY.

TO THE MUS^UM^ 33^ BRUTpN STREET^

BY ORDER OF ^

Extract FROM REG^?ATT&Ns—'i^angers may be aJmitted either to the Gardens

or Museum, by Orders from Fellows, upon payment of Is. by each Person."

No Admission, except to Fellows, on Sundays.

Catalogues of the Museum and Menagerie may be obtained at the respective

Establishments.

time open to Members. It then contained " a number of living
animals disposed in suitable dens, aviaries, and paddocks," but
there is no classified list.

Not till July, however, were the plans for the houses pre-
pared, and still later were those for buildings on the north side
approved by the Commissioners of Woods and Forests. As a
provision for tender animals during the winter a stable and room
adjoinmg in Park Street were taken, so that they might be
removed thither from the Gardens. From an entry in the
minutes it appears that the Council were fully alive to their re-
sponsibilities, for at the meeting of November 19 it was ordered
" that an inquiry be made after a small farm or land in the
vicinity of London, to be used as a breeding place."

Beaver Pond and Falcons' Aviary. (See p. :59.

Aviary. (See p. 39.)

Plate 7.

Cattle Sheds and Yards. {See p. 40.)
From the "Zoological Keepsake.^'

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 33

The opening of the Garden caused some excitement. In the
Swainson Correspondence, now in the possession of the Linnean
Society, there is a letter, dated December 1, from Barron Field,
Advocate-Fiscal of Ceylon, afterwards Judge of the Supreme
Court of New South Wales, and Corresponding Member of the
Society, in which Yigors's share in the work is thus referred to :

It must be very gratifying to see the March of Zoology in England.
The popularity of the science is greatly indebted to Vigors and his lucky
hit of the Regent's Park Menagerie.

Dr. Horsfield resigned the Vice-Secretaryship, and was suc-
ceeded in that office by Mr. E. T. Bennett ; and John Gould's
connection with the Society began this year by his appointment
as Curator and Preserver to the Museum, now so well stocked as
to warrant the issue of a catalogue of the mammalia. This was
arranged on the Quinarian system, a fact not to be wondered at
considering the important part Vigors played in the early history
of the Society."^ There were 450 specimens, the bulk of them
belonging to the Rafflesian collection, but Captain Parry, Captain
(afterwards Sir John) Franklin, and Dr. (afterwards Sir John)
Richardson were also donors. In the Museum were exhibited
the panda or bear cat, discovered by General Hardwicke ;
the fennec or long-eared fox, which effectually vindicated the
accuracy of Bruce, that had been impugned by some French
naturalists ; and the clouded tiger, made known to science by
Sir Stamford Raffles, the specimen he had brought alive to
England, which was exhibited at Exeter 'Change.

The first printed list of Members was issued in January, 1829,
and contains the names of 1,294 Ordinary, 8 Honorary, and 37
Corresponding Members. In his Jubilee Address Sir William
Flower referred to it as interesting from the number of names it
includes of persons eminent in science, art, literature, or social
life. '* Indeed," he said, " there were not many people of distinc-
tion in the country at that time who are not to be found in it."

This year saw the first publication of the Council's Report,
on the occasion of the Anniversary Meeting on April 29. It

* An interesting account of the Quinarian system and the men who advocated
it will be found in the Introduction to Professor Newton's "Dictionary of Birds,"
pp. 32-35.
D

84 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

contained the announcement of the grant of a Charter, and the
text of the document is given. The objects of the Society are
therein defined as " the advancement of Zoology and Animal
Physiology * and the introduction of new and curious subjects of
the Animal Kingdom." t The Marquess of Lansdowne, Joseph
Sabine, and Nicholas Ay 1 ward Vigors were confirmed in their
respective offices of President, Treasurer, and Secretary till April
29, 1829, which date, or as near thereto as conveniently might
be, was fixed for the Annual Meeting in successive years. From
this period the Members became Fellows. The Council ap-
pointed Mr. Rees Assistant Secretary, and Mr. Alexander Miller
replaced Mr. E. A. Johnson as Superintendent of the Gardens.

Cross renewed his application to the Council that they
should purchase his animals, and though an offer for part of
them was made it was not accepted by the owner, who wanted
to dispose of the whole. Barron Field wrote to Swainson on
January 21 that Cross had received notice to quit Exeter 'Change
in a month, "so that he must come down to the terms of the
Zoological Society, and thus will be made a great addition to
their menagerie." Cross, however, did not agree; and the
negotiations came to an end. If one may judge from the
Address to the Reader prefixed to his " Companion to the Royal
Menagerie," published in 1820, Cross took himself very seriously,.
and, of course, had great experience with animals in confinement.
He was, however, essentially a "showman," and even if the
arrangement had been brought about it may be doubted if he
would have been a good manager for an establishment where
the presence of the general public was suffered rather than
encouraged.

A good deal was written about the sj^stem of requiring
visitors, not personally introduced, to obtain an order from a
Fellow as a condition of admittance on payment. In a curious

* The study of the living organism, though, from the nature of the case, without
reference to its hearing on evolution.

t As was pointed out hy Sir "William Flower in his Juhilee Address, this meant
not only the temporary introduction of individuals for the purpose of satisfying
curiosity about their external characters and structure, but also the permanent
domestication of foreign animals which might become of value to man, either for
their utility in adding to our food supplies or for the pleasure they afford by
their beauty.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 35

little book,"^ somewhat of the Sandford-and-Merton type, the
matter was thus discussed between Mr. Dartmouth, a Fellow,
and some of his sister's children, who visit the Garden with
him. Said one of the children:

The necessity that Strangers must either be introduced by Members,
or else provided with their orders, or with their tickets, is productive, I
should think, of some inconveniences 1

Taking advantage of this opening, Mr. Dartmouth replied:

It certainly is so ; but upon the whole the restriction is probably
beneficial. Besides, few of the persons who are proper visitors can have
much difficulty in finding Members willing to oblige them.

It is evidently proper, that in the admission of Strangers, some degree
of system should be observed, especially at the Garden, for the sake, both
of preventing mischief and injury to the Animals, and to the Garden itself,
and of contributing, in some degree, to save the Visitors themselves from
the accidents that sometimes attend exhibitions of wild beasts of prey.
The vulgar are too fond of irritating the fiercer animals and of teasing and
hurting those which are gentle ; and both vulgar and others are often
exceedingly rash in introducing their hands into the dens and enclosures, or
careless in placing themselves so near the bars, as to defeat the effect of
every precaution for their safety. Upon the first subject, as you know,
we have had to caution George ; and I believe both George and Jane are
indebted to some risks which they have run for the respectful distance
which they now keep. Only the other day, too, as we saw, one of the
Wolves, though so well guarded in the kennel, bit the arm of a little
boy that had taken much pains to introduce it through the bars. You
see, therefore, that caution is needful ; and, perhaps, even in this view
alone, it is proper that the admission should not be indiscriminate.
The necessity for orders almost prevents young people from coming
without some superintendence.

The " thick ungrateful clay " of the Park was found to be
the cause of increased expense in the construction of houses.
Consideration for the health of the animals necessitated oak
floors, and a thick layer of dry material had to be deposited
under enclosures and walks. These disadvantages, however,
were considered " amply counterbalanced by the vicinity of the

* " The Zoological Keepsake ; or, Zoology and the Garden and Museum of the
Zoological Society for the year 1830." London : Marsh and Miller. No author's
name is given, and the Editor's Preface is signed M*. It is stated in a note on
p. 45 that the Editor contributed " Critical Accounts of South American Camels "
to the Colonial Journal (1817, 1818) ; but examination of that short-lived Quarterly
throws no light on the authorship.

36 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY,

site to town." Flower-beds were laid out, and the Horticul-
tural Society was very liberal in sending supplies for this
purpose. An account of the stock puts the number of species
and varieties belonging to the Society at 194, of which G9 were
"quadrupeds," i.e. mammals, and 125 birds; there were 152
examples of the mammalian and 475 of the avian species, so
that the collection consisted of 627 animals, of which the larger
portion was in the Garden. There were few that would be
considered rare at the present day, but some of the "larger
and stronger quadrupeds" were promised as soon as dens
and enclosures could be prepared for them.

In March the first Guide was drawn up, at the request of
the Council, by Vigors and Broderip, and the style of the latter
is clearly perceptible. The following passage, describing the
raccoon, certainly did not come from Vigors's pen :

Strange stories are told of its fishing for crabs with its tail, and
opening oysters with its feet ; and Pennant says " that it loves strong
liquors, and will get excessively drunk."* It seems to be attached to
good cheer in general, from " 'Possum up a gum tree " t to sugar cane,
and appears to have a penchant for turtle ; for our friend here, who
is extremely amiable, playful and caressing, was admitted one day into
a room with a land tortoise, which he no sooner saw than he flew at
it with the zeal of an alderman.

Fellows signed their names in a book kept in the lodge (1)

* " Arctic Zoology," p. 69. (This note and the next are from the Guide.)
f See — or rather hear | the Carmen Zoologicum of the egregious Matthews :
'Possum up a gum tree, Raccoon in a hollow,
Catch him by him long tail ! How him whoop and halloo 1 !
X At first the singular form was correct, for only a portion of what is now
the South Garden was opened. When the tunnel was made and the North (now
the Middle) Garden laid out and stocked, the plural form was used.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 37

on the right ; persons provided with an order paid one shilling
each at the lodge on the left, receiving in return a check whicK
was given up at the central lodge a little farther on. There
were three bears in the pit (3) at the end of the Terrace (2);
and where the " bear bar " now stands was a rustic seat, in
which a person was permitted to attend during the hours of
exhibition " for the sale of cakes, fruits, nuts, and other articles,
which the visitors may be disposed to give to the different
animals." Below the Terrace on the left was the waterfowls'
lawn (6) with a pond and fountain. In this enclosure were
kept a shag, black-billed whistling ducks,^ mallard (taken in
the Society's decoy on the Lake in the Park), pintail, wigeon,
pochard, and greater and lesser black-backed, herring, and
common gulls. The crowned cranes and other wading birds
from the large aviaries (,S3), approximately on the site of the
Eastern Aviary, were turned into this enclosure during the day.
In the llama house (5), now the camel house, were two
llamas, and behind, there stood, as it stands to-day, an open-air
aviary (7), then used for the blue-and-yellow and red-and-blue
macaws, and greater and lesser sulphur-crested cockatoos.
North of the llama house was a court yard (8) with iron cages,
in which were a hybrid between a jackal and a dog, a pair of
cinnamon bears, European and American bears, Cuban mastiffs,
dingos, and a sable. Under the Terrace were some chambers,
in which an American tapir and an ostrich were kept. Adjoin-
ing, but nearer the Park boundary, was a yard (9) with three
divisions; in one was a reindeer, and in the others some great
kangaroos. In front of this were enclosures (10) accommodating
a couple of sambur, one of which came from Windsor, and had
been hunted by the Royal buckhounds, an American fallow-
deer, and a nylghaie. Still nearer what is now the South
Entrance was a temporary building (12) with three leopards, a
jaguar, a lion cub, two striped hyaena cubs, a black buck, a pair
of ocelots, an African civet cat, a Tibet bear, three coatimondis,
Virginian opossums, guinea-pigs, agoutis, a ratel, a couple of
genets, common, fasciculated and Canada porcupines, some

* This anticipates the notice in the Hon. Rose Hubbard's " Ornamental Water-
fowl" (ed. 1888, p. 92) that the species had been "an inhabitant of the Zoological
Gardens since 1831."

w— ^—H •w— 0>rt nl yfV-i_; ni :r -:-.-^>-, ■<■*

i i

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 39

ichneumons, and an Indian civet cat. In cages at the end of
the room were kept a condor, a harpy eagle, and a Chilian eagle.
Beyond this was a turfed piece, then came the carpenters'
yard (14) ; on the east side were the dog and fox cages,
containing Esquimaux, wolf, Hare Indian, and Chinese black-
mouthed dogs ; common, cross, black, and American foxes ;
and raccoons.

On the lawn in front of the llama house, and opposite the
deer enclosures were the dens for large quadrupeds (11), tenanted
by a pair of leopards, a Cape lion, a striped and a spotted hysena,
a young tigress, a puma and leopard in the same cage, two
cheetahs, two sloth bears, and a polar bear. Near this was a
shed (13) with enclosures for goats. In the farther angle (on
the plot behind the diving birds' house) were the sties for
peccaries (16), of which the collared and white-lipped species were
exhibited; westward were some movable aviaries (17) with gold,
silver, and ring-necked pheasants, partridges, red-legs, and black-
cock. Later this was called Monkey Green, from the monkey
poles (18), to which certain species were fastened during the day
in favourable weather. In front were the otter pond (19) and a
paddock for tortoises, of which four species were exhibited,
and on the west of the poles was a wirework cage containing
a bearded vulture.

In the monkey house (20), with open-front cages on the site
of the present eagles' aviary, were an agile gibbon, mangabeys,
patas, green, mona, and lesser white-nosed guenons, wanderoos,
rhesus, bonnet and pigtail macaques, a black ape, a Barbary
ape, baboons (not to be identified), a young mandrill, and some
drills. What is now the otter pond was then the beaver enclosure
(21), and the old kites' cages (22) contained kites, peregrines, a
moor buzzard, a honey buzzard, even then "not of frequent
occurrence," common buzzards, an unidentified South African
eagle, and Egyptian vultures. The aviary " for small and middle-
sized birds" (23) is still standing, but is used as the civets' house.
Part of it was devoted to British species — the hooded crow,
jackdaw, magpie, starling, missel thrush, thrush, blackbird, haw-
finch, greenfinch, chaffinch, tree sparrow, linnet, lesser redpoll,
goldfinch, redbreast, woodlark, bearded titmouse, yellowhammer,
cuckoo, little bittern, sparrowhawk, kestrel, hobby, short-eared

40 THE ZOOLOOIOAL SOCIETY.

and little owls, and a hybrid between the turtle-dove and domestic
pigeon, of which, unfortunately, there is no history. The exotic
birds consisted of the crested partridge, Chinese starling, the
parrot fruit-pigeon (of which very few examples have been
exhibited since), and the St. Domingo falcon, now called the
American sparrowhawk.

In front was a large pond (24), on which w^ere summer ducks,
shovellers, tufted ducks, gadwall, teal, garganey, lapwings, ruffs,
a night heron, coot, and black-headed gulls. In their printed
draft Vigors and Broderip mention the fact that carp were bred
here in 1828, adding:

When some of the more pressing objects of the Society have been
attained, a favourable spot will be selected where experiments may be
tried with regard to Fishes, the naturalisation of which was a favourite
project with many of the leading and most active founders of the
Society.

West of this, on the site of the existing llama house, were
the cattle sheds and yards (25), containing small zebus, a fine
Brahmin bull, and an American bison calf, presented by the
Hudson's Bay Compan}^ This young female replaced a very
large male, purchased from a showman, by whom it had been
exhibited under the classical name of " the bonassus," to which, of
course, it had no claim. Soon after its transfer to the Society it
died, " probably in consequence of the sudden change operating
upon a habit already enfeebled by chronic disease." Behind this
house were the owls' cages (26), which have been removed within
the last few years. The stock consisted of great-eared, Virginian
eagle, snowy, brown, and white owls, and a pair of ravens were
kept here.

In front of these sheds, near the site of the bandstand, was
an octagonal eagles' aviary (29), containing a griflbn and sociable
vultures, white-headed eagle, white-tailed eagle, osprey, and
golden eagles. East of this aviary was the turtle-doves' cage
(27), containing, in addition to the common form, white and
pied varieties, wood- pigeons, white- crowned pigeons, an
" Oriental partridge," a Californian quail, black-tailed godwits^
a scarlet ibis, and some Norfolk plover. Opposite was a rabbit
enclosure (28), in which the wild species and fancy varieties
were kept. On the right was the guinea-pig enclosure (30), and,

PLATE III.

THE CAMEL HOUSE.

(See p. 37.)

#♦

♦T

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 41

close by, the wolves' den (31), where a litter was produced in
the spring.

The rest of the buildings and enclosures stood between the
cattle shed (25) and the entrance. First in order was the pond
for geese (32), stocked with mute, Polish and white swans,
Gambian, Canada, Chinese, Egyptian, grey-lag, bean, white-
fronted, brent and barnacle geese, and sheldrakes. Beyond, and
facing the waterfowls' lawn, were the large aviaries (33), with
Balearic cranes, a marabou stork, common and black storks,
common and purple herons, bitterns ; a collection of curassows,
and a guan ; a number of fancy pigeons, and an interesting
hybrid between the pheasant and the guinea-fowL At the back
of the aviaries were the keepers' apartments (34) and the office
of the Superintendent. Nearer the entrance were the pelicans,
enclosure (35) and the emus' enclosure (36). The emus were
hatched in the Royal Menagerie at Windsor, and presented to
the Society by George IV.

Receipts from the sale of the Guide for 1829 amounted to
£288, and rose in 1831 to £369 ; they then dwindled gradually
till 1847, when vanishing point was reached.

Towards the close of the year the tunnel was made con-
necting the two Gardens, and the Repository was built at the
east end of the North Garden. This served for the reception of
animals on their arrival, and as a plaoe in which to keep those
that needed protection. It has been, in turn, the lion house, a
reptile house, a small cats' house, and is now the squirrels' house.

A very important part of this year's work was the establish-
ment of a farm under the wall of Richmond Park at Kingston
Hill. The Council described it in their Report as well adapted
for the work of the Society. With the exception of two or three
meadows it consisted of covert and arable land with a light dry
soil, and was well supplied with springs, so that stews and fish-
ponds might easily be added.

It had been urged against the Council that the delay in
carrying out the experimental work specified in the Charter was
a matter of reproach to them. There were, however, good
reasons for waiting, and in their Report they specified the fol-
lowing as the purposes and objects for which the farm would
be utilised:

CO .2

CO «

CO S.

CM 5

00 r.

z ^

o ^

if ^

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 43

I. In affording a convenient relief and assistance to the Menagerie
in the Park, by removing from it such Quadrupeds and Birds as may
require a quiet place to bring forth and rear their young ; also in receiving
the duplicates of the collection which it may be expedient to keep in
hand to replace those which are exhibited in the Park when necessary;
and likewise to maintain such as want a more extended range than the
Garden at present admits of, or which it is necessary to allow to remain
at liberty.

II. The rearing various domesticated Quadrupeds and Birds, both of
ornamental as well as useful varieties, with a view of having their kinds
true and free from mixture ; or in effecting improvements in the quality
or properties of those used for the table ; and likewise in domesticating
subjects from our own or foreign countries, which have not hitherto been
inmates of our poultry or farm yards.

III. The conducting experiments in all matters relating to breeding
and points of animal physiology connected therewith, the range of which
is very various and extensive. Many of these will require much time
to be completed ; some may be brought to a conclus'on within a year or
two. It is remarkable that there have never been published any correctly
recorded facts on which the opinions at present entertained by physiolo-
gists on many of such matters can be supported. It is to be hoped that
the Zoological Society may be the instrument of settling many questions
of this description in a satisfactory manner.

In the objects of attention at the Farm, the breeding and trying
experiments with fish are of course included.*

In 1830 Mr. Decimus Burton was appointed architect, and a
good deal of work was done in laying out the North Garden.
The main walk was made from end to end, as were others radi-
ating from it and on the slope down to the canal. South of the
Repository was a row of dog-kennels ; westward, near the site of
the thars' house, were the ostrich shed and walk, separated by
the gravel path from the kangaroos' paddock, in which was a
shed for shelter. The most important structure was the wapiti
house, which also accommodated antelopes and zebras; here,
too, for a time, elephants were kept. It communicated with six

* In 1830 the idea of fish-culture seems to have been abandoned in favour of
experiments for introducinof new fonns. At the Anniversary Meeting in that year
the Coimcil reported that some of the varieties most desired were to be found in
Germany ; and that the steam navigation of the Rhine offered new facilities for
their transportation. Two years later the ponds and supply of water at the Farm
were found less satisfactory than was expected. The fish-stock then consisted of
common carp, gold-fish, flounders, and eels ; but the last two species had not been
examined for two years, for fear of disturbing the aquatic birds. In the following
year the Farm was given up.

U THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

paddocks, strongly fenced, and in the upper storey were rooms
for keepers and stores. Beyond this was a paddock containing
the pond (Plate 12) which is now at the back of the rhinoceros
stalls in the elephant house. The exit gate and carriage-sweep
outside were made, and in this farther part of the Garden were
sties for peccaries, a small house for tapirs, and yards for the
gardeners and carpenters. In the South Garden the grounds
were cleared of the workmen's sheds ; a pit with a pond was con-
structed for the polar bear just east of the monkey poles, and
a seal house erected in a line with and west of the otter pond.
The Menagerie stock was greatly increased. The King
signified his pleasure to become the Patron of the Society, and
presented the collection of animals in the Royal Menagerie
at Windsor. The following is the list given in the Report of
the Council :

Mammals :— 14 wapiti, 3 axis and 2 sambur deer, 1 American roe deer,
3 gnus, 2 nylghaie, 2 llamas, 4 Cashmere and 3 Barbary goats, 1 Cape
ram, 7 zebus, 2 mountain and 2 Burchell's zebras, 2 hybrids between
both species of zebra and the common ass, 1 wild boar, 1 peccary, and
13 kangaroos.

Birds : — 1 king vulture, 2 sea eagles, 1 peregrine falcon, 2 great-eared
owls, 4 macaws, 2 cockatoos, 1 scarlet lory, 2 golden parrakeets, 1 rosehill
parrakeet, 5 widow birds, 11 emus, 1 curassow, 42 pea-fowls of different
varieties, 4 crowned cranes, 1 scarlet ibis, 1 spoonbill, and 7 cereopsis
geese.

No mention is made of any reptiles, but Jesse,^ who, from
his official position as Surveyor of H.M.'s Parks and Palaces,
must have known a good deal about the Royal Menagerie, says
that the man in charge had a narrow escape of being killed by
" the boa constrictor." He seems to have made a pet of the
reptile, and used to bring it into his sitting-room. On the last
occasion of being allowed its liberty, the serpent struck at the
keeper, and threw two or three coils round his body. Fortu-
nately his cries brought assistance, and he was released from
his perilous position.

In addition to this " splendid present," as it was rightly called
by the Council, Queen Adelaide sent three alpacas, and the
Duke of Sussex an original Member of the Societ}^ a Persian
lynx. From other donors were received ostriches, three

* " Gleanings in Natural History," 2nd series, p. 120.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 45

demoiselle cranes, several South American birds and quadrupeds,
a wombat, a vicugna, and a pair of J a van peafowl.

The Royal gift naturally excited a good deal of interest. A
paragraph in the Times of August 19 announced that great pre-
parations were being made at the Gardens for the reception of
the animals, and that more than 100 men were employed in
draining the ground on the banks of the Regent's Canal and
constructing habitations for housing the stock. A good deal of
it, however, was sent to the Farm.

This notable accession enabled the Council to behave liberally
to the Zoological Society then being formed in Dublin by offering
duplicates. A similar offer was made to the Royal Menagerie at
Paris, whither were sent a pair of wapiti from the Royal herd,
and duplicates of Indian and Australian animals " worthy of
the National Institutions of England and France respectively
to offer and accept."

About this time the Society endeavoured to procure a giraffe.
At the Council Meeting of July 7 a letter was read from Mr.
Traill, of Cairo, offering his services in obtaining a specimen,
and it was determined to allow £300 for one " delivered safely
and in good health at Alexandria." Not long after this the
skin and skeleton of " the giraffe which lately died at Windsor '*
were offered to the Society. A minute states that the Council
" thankfully accept the same, and will also defray the charges of
preserving and setting up the animal."

The following account^ of that giraffe in captivity is, not
improbably, from Owen's pen:

It was at that thne [August, 1827] exceedingly playful ; but as its
growth proceeded, which was rapid (having increased eighteen inches in
less than two years), it became much less active ; its health evidently
declined ; its legs almost lost their power of supporting the body ; the
joints seemed to shoot over ; and at length the weakness increased to such
a degree, that it became necessary to have a pulley constructed, which,
being suspended from the ceiling of the animal's hovel, was fastened round
its body, for the purpose of raising it on its legs without any exertion on
its own part. From the harmless disposition and uniform gentleness of
this animal, the interest which it had excited in his late Majesty was very

* Zoological Magazine, p. 3. This was founded by Owen (Jan., 1833), who sold
the copyright after six numbers liad appeared. In the " Life " by his grandson,
the Eev. Richard Owen, he is said to have written the greater part of this short-
lived periodical.

46 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

great ; but notwithstanding every attention it died in the following
year. . . .

Owing to the distance from town at which this animal was kept, and
the state of confinement which its weakly condition rendered indispensable
during the latter period of its existence, the living giraffe was seen in this
country by comparatively few individuals. The skin, however, and
skeleton, both beautifully prepared, are preserved in the Museum of the
Zoological Society— the munificent donations of his present Majesty
[William IV.].

The date of the animal's death is fixed by the following
extract from the Windsor and Eton Express, October 17, 1829 :

Messrs. Gould* and Tomkins, of the Zoological Gardens, are now
dissecting the Giraffe which expired on Sunday last. We understand
that when the skin is stuffed. His Majesty intends making it a present
to the Zoological Society.

The most important animal received in 1830 was a young
male orang presented by Mr. Swinton, of Calcutta, who had
previously sent a female specimen in spirits for the Museum.
It reached England in the late autumn; for at the meeting of
November 3 the Council voted a gratuity of £3 " to the person
who had the care of the orang lately presented to the Society.'*
It was, however, never exhibited. Jesse,t who was interested
in the animal, prints the following account of it ''from a
gentleman connected with the Zoological Society " :

On its return from India, the vessel which conveyed the poor little
orang to a climate always fatal to its race, stopped some time at the Isle
of France to take in fresh provisions. The orang accompanied the
sailors in their daily visits to the shore, and their calls upon the keepers
of taverns, and places of a like description. To one of these, kept by
an old woman who sold coffee, &c., for breakfast, the orang was accus-
tomed to go, unattended every morning ; and by signs easily interpreted,
demand his usual breakfast, which was duly delivered. The charge was
scored up to the captain's account, which he paid before his departure.

The orang was on excellent terms with all the ship's company,
except the butcher, of whom he was afraid, and whom he made
every effort to concihate, " having seen him kill sheep and oxen
in the exercise of his duty." From the sailors' hammocks the
orang would convey any article that he considered would add

* This must have been John Gould, then preserver and curator to the Museum
of the Zoological Society.

t " Gleanings," 2nd series, pp. 40-42.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY, 47

to his own comfort. Any piece of bedding that was missed
was, of course, sought for in that part of the ship where the
orang slept, but he was by no means disposed to give it up to
the rightful owner without a contest. The animal was subjected
to some training, for

His conduct at table, to which he was familiarly admitted, was decorous
and polite. He soon comprehended the use of knives and forks, but
preferred a spoon, which he handled with as much ease as any child
of seven or eight years old.

On its arrival in this country the animal was kept for a short
time in the house of a gentleman residing in Kegent's Park.
There it sickened, and was removed to Bruton Street; but it
gradually grew worse and died in a few days, " not without the
regret of the nurse and the sympathy of us all"

Mr. Joseph Sabine resigned the treasurership and was suc-
ceeded by Mr. James Morrison.

This year witnessed the establishment of scientific meetings.
At the Council Meeting of July 21 a Committee of Science
and Correspondence was appointed, consisting of Dr. Grant, Dr.
Harwood, Dr. Horsfield, and Messrs. Bell, Bennett, Bicheno,
Broderip, Brookes, Children, Coleman, S pence, and Yarrell. Each
Member of the Council had a seat on the Committee ex officio,
and letters of invitation to take part in the meetings were sent
to prominent Members engaged in scientific work. Among these
were the Bells, E. T. Bennett, Robert Brown (the botanist), Dean
Buckland, William Clift (Conservator of the Museum of the
Royal College of Surgeons), W. H. Fitton (President of the
Geological Society), R. E. Grant (of University College), J. E.
Gray (of the British Museum), Sir Everard Home, the Rev. F. W.
Hope, Murchison (afterwards Director of the Geological Survey),
Ogilby, Owen (then Assistant Conservator of the Hunterian
Museum, afterwards Superintendent of the Natural History
Department of the British Museum), the Sowerbys, and many
others.

The duties of this Committee were (1) to suggest and discuss
questions and experiments in animal physiology ; (2) to exchange
communications with the Corresponding Members; (3) to promote
the importation of rare and useful animals ; and (4) to receive
and prepare reports upon matters connected with zoology.

48 THE ZOOLOQTOAL SOCIETY.

In the Councirs Report of November 4 there was an explana-
tion that the work entailed by the formation of the Society's
ostabUshment— Gardens, Museum, and Farm — had prevented
the discussion of scientific matters at the monthly meetings.
Consequently it was proposed that this defect should be remedied
by holding meetings on the second and fourth Tuesdays in each
month for that special purpose. The first meeting was held on
November 9, when Vigors opened the proceedings with a descrip-
tion of the colins or New World quails (Ortyx), of which four
species were then in the Gardens. One, the Virginian colin, had,
he said, bred in this country, and " had even become naturalised
in Suffolk." In this, however, he was mistaken ; and though
many other attempts have since been made to introduce the
species, they have been unsuccessful. It formerly had a
place in Yarrell's "British Birds." In the fourth edition
(iii. 122) Mr. Howard Saunders remarked that thousands had
been "brought over from North America during the present
[the nineteenth] century, without having succeeded in per-
manently establishing themselves." He, therefore, omitted it
from the list. Mr. J. E. Harting dealt with the subject in
the last edition of his " Handbook of British Birds " (pp.
153-55) and referred briefly to the principal attempts to
introduce this species, with references to the literature.

More important by far was the paper on the anatomy of the
orang, of which the first part was read by Mr. (afterwards Sir
Richard) Owen. The subject was the young male which had
recently died in Bruton Street. According to Owen it was in "a
very debilitated state" when it reached this country, and he
attributed its death, not to climatic influences as suggested by
Jesse's informant, but to " debility and exhaustion of the system"
produced by a long voyage, improper food, and intestinal trouble.
This paper, in four parts, was the first of a long series of contri-
butions for more than half a century, the last being included in
the Proceedings for 1884. Abstracts of the papers were pub-
lished in fasciculi, generally of sixteen pages, and the first, which
Appeared about the end of the year, contained the business of
three meetings. These fasciculi were delivered to the Fellows
free of charge.

Though not an official publication, " The Gardens and

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 49

Menagerie of the Zoological Society Delineated " was prepared
under the superintendence of the Secretary and Vice-Secretary,
with the sanction of the Council. The first volume, dealing with
the mammals, appeared in the autumn, and the second, treating
of the birds, some months later. In the preface it was stated
that " one great aim of the Society is to diffuse as widely as
possible a practical acquaintance with living animals." Technical
expressions " which render most scientific works unintelligible
to the general reader " were avoided. With this simplicity of
language was combined scrupulous accuracy with regard to
facts, and the drawings were made and the descriptions taken
from animals living in the Menagerie. There was no attempt
to arrange the beasts or birds in classificatory groups, but a
systematic index was given at the end of each volume. Much
was said about the possible domestication of new forms, notably
of the curassows. There was reference to some attempts at
acclimatisation in Holland in the eighteenth century; and the
remark that "it may not be too much to expect that the
Zoological Society may be successful in perfecting what was
then so well begun" shows the author was thoroughly in
sympathy with the economic aims of the new institution.
But the hopes then entertained with regard to these birds
have been disappointed, and the story of the failure was told
some twenty years later.* These volumes were very well
received, and might serve in many respects as models for a
popular "Natural History."

Bennett's name appears as editor, though he was more than
that ; and was assisted in his task by Vigors, Broderip, Wallich,
and Yarrell. A notice of the first volume in the Athenceum
(Oct. 23) is of interest from the mental attitude of the writer
with respect to the Gardens :

This book will be invaluable to the sick, to the infirm— and, indeed,
to all those persons who from weakness of constitution or the severity
of our English summers, are unable to go upon their travels so far as
the Zoological Gardens, in the back settlements of the Regent's Park-
where the wild beasts of the desert, and the wild birds of the wood and
rock abound. The Zoological Gardens may be visited in this singularly
faithful and beautiful work to the perfect satisfaction of the eye ; and

* E. S. Dixon, ♦' The Dovecote and the Aviary," pp. 223-279 (London, 1851).
E

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

perhaps the holiday which the ear and nose enjoy in this pictured visit
is not without its pleasures and relief. . . . The publication of a
work so spiritedly, yet so carefully got up as this, is a real treasure to
science. Anyone may now have his own menagerie in his own room —
every gentleman be his own Wombwell.

Till long beyond this date it will not be possible to tabulate
the condition of the Menagerie stock with any approach to
accuracy. All the details procurable with regard to the number
of animals in the Gardens at the Anniversary Meeting in 1829
are given on p. 36. At the next anniversary no particulars were
afforded, but a record of the number and species of " living
animals at present exhibited in the Gardens and at Bruton
Street" was laid upon the table for the inspection of the
Fellows. In an account published in the Annual Keport
presented in 1831 there are included 178 species of mammals
and 195 of birds. At the end of the list it is stated that
"many of the smaller British birds which have been kept in
the Society's Aviaries are purposely omitted, as are also the
Reptiles, although many species of this class have been con-
tinually exhibited in the Gardens." This list was probably made
up to December 31, 1830, as were the accounts, but in many
cases the figures, especially those of the breeding lists, refer to
the period between one anniversary and the next.

Fellowship Roll, Visitors and Finance.

1827
1828
1829
1830

No. of
FeUows.

Admissions to
Gardens.

Income.
£.

Expenditure.

£.

602
1,226
1,528
1,769

98,605*
189,913
224,745

4,079
11,515
13,994
15,958

4,375
10,044
12,414
14,615

* From April 27— December 31.

First Lady Jane. (See pp. G5, 85.)
From the '^Mirror," 1838.

Plate 10.

First Chimpanzee. {See p. 60.)
From Stiodies by G. Scharj,

CHAPTER III.

1831—1840.

At the Anniversary Meeting of 1831 the Marquess of Lansdowne
resigned the office of President, and Lord Stanley (afterwards
the thirteenth Earl of Derby) was unanimously elected. An
entry in the minutes records the appreciation by the Council of
the services rendered by Lord Lansdowne " in accepting office
on the melancholy occasion of the death of the Founder^ and
first President of the Society " ; and in consequence he was
made an Honorary Member. Mr. J. Morrison, the Treasurer,
was succeeded by Mr. Charles Drummond, in whose family the
office still remains.

At the Annual Meeting in 1833 Mr. N. A. Vigors, who
had been elected Member for County Carlow, gave up the
Secretaryship the better to discharge his Parliamentary duties.
He was then formally thanked for his services, and at the
following General Meeting, on May 2, the Council recorded their
high sense of his eminent services, and their cordial concurrence
in the thanks already given to him. The following paragraphs
are from their Report :

His zeal for the welfare of the Institution to which he has devoted
himself during the seven years which have elapsed since its establishment,
his scientific acquirements, and his readiness of access and of communica-
tion contributed materially in the earlier days of the Society to its success,
and have since continued to advance its interests. . . .

In the donation of the first Secretary, and in the liberal present of the
Sumatran collection of the first President, the late Sir Stamford Raffles, the
Museum originated ; and the Council look forward to the day when, in a
building worthy of its reception, there may be placed, by the liberality of
the members, lasting memorials of its joint founders. As in the case of the

* This is the first— perhaps the only — instance in which the title of Founder
is applied to Sir Stamford Eaffles, in an official document, without qualification
of some kind. It seems to have escaped notice hitherto, for which reason attention
is called to it.

52 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

Eafflesiaa collection, the Council have ordered that the several articles of
the Vigorsian collection shall be marked with the name of the donor, the
extent of whose liberality towards the Society will thus be made evident
to every visitor of the Museum.

Vigors died in London in 1840. His remains were taken to
Ireland and interred in the ancient cathedral at Old Leighlin,
where a monument was erected to his memory. The inscription
is given in full by Professor D. J. Cunningham,^ and the
following sentences are worth quotation: —

With the co-operation of the late Sir Stamford Eafiles, he was the
original founder of the Zoological Society of London, to which he was
Honorary Secretary for the first seven years of its institution. As a
member of all the literary and scientific societies of Europe, his name
will be long remembered to science.

An appreciative obituary notice appeared in the Gentleman's
Magazine for December, 1840 (p. 659), in which the following
passage occurs :

His long and intimate connection witli the Zoological Society is well
known ; in fact, it is no more than justice to unite his name with those of
Sir Stamford Raffles and Sir Humphry Davy as the founders of that useful,
interesting, and flourishing institution.

Edward Turner Bennett succeeded Vigors, and filled the post
till his death in August, 1836. He founded the library, with a
donation of something over 200 volumes, and in their record
of his services the Council referred to his skill in conducting
the negotiations for acquiring rare and valuable animals, and his
accurate attention to the carrying out of all works at the Gardens
and Museum. With regard to the latter, one of the centres of
the Society's scientific usefulness, it was said that "he left no
means unemployed to maintain this most important department
on the scale contemplated by its Founders, Sir Stamford Raffles
and Mr. Vigors." The Council considered that the state of the
Society's published papers was the chief cause of its high
reputation. This they attributed to the unwearied diligence
and comprehensive acquirements of their late Secretary — as
shown in the numbers of papers he had contributed, and his
judicious supervision of the production of the Proceedings and
Transactions.

♦ " Origin and Early History of the Eoyal Zoological Society of Ireland," p. 29,

THE ZOOLOGIGAL SOCIETY. 53

The first scientific meeting that occurred after his death was
adjourned as a mark of respect ; and at the monthly General
Meeting immediately following it was unanimously resolved :

That this meeting deeply lament the announcement which has been
made in the Report of the death of the late Secretary, Mr. Edward Turner
Bennett ; and they desire to record their deep sense of the loss which the
Society and science have sustained in the decease of so excellent and
amiable a man.

Bennett was succeeded by Yarrell, who held office for two
years, when he was compelled to resign owing to his business
engagements. His services to the Society, from its foundation
till his death, thirty years later, can hardly be overrated. In
accepting his resignation the Council spoke in high terms of
his zoological attainments and the general acquaintance with
business details which enabled him " to fill the responsible office
of Secretary in a manner equally creditable to himself and
advantageous to the Society."

The Rev. John Barlow then became Secretary, and was
followed in 1839 by Ogilby, who retained the post till 1847, and
was the last Honorary Secretary.

In 1833 Gould was appointed Superintendent of the ornitho-
logical department of the Museum, over which he presided for four
years, when he resigned in order to go to Australia in search of
material for his great work on the birds of the island continent.
He did not, however, leave England till the following year ; and
before embarking wrote thus to the Council :

With regard to the Society's ornithological collection, as I have at all
times taken a great interest in it, and have ever done my utmost to increase
its value, I hope that on my return to England, I may be allowed to resume
the care of it, should I be desirous of so doing.

To this application a favourable reply was sent, and Gould
was elected a Corresponding Member of the Society.^ On that
occasion the Council recorded their sense of the great scientific
value of his work, and expressed the earnest hope that his
present undertaking might be crowned with that success which
had hitherto accompanied his efforts.

On his return, however, he did not take up his old duties,

* Gould took up the Fellowship in 1840, and was afterwards a Member of
Council and Vice-President.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

but devoted his energies to the production of his famous books.
Mr. G. R. Waterhouse was appointed Curator of the Museum in
1836, and fulfilled the duties of that post till 1843, when he
obtained an assistantship in the British Museum. Mr. Louis
Fraser succeeded him, and after his resignation in 1845 the
Museum was in charge of subordinate officers.

In 1831 there was an extension of the ground held on lease
by the Society from the Crown. This consisted of five acres and
a half on the west side of the South Garden, about an acre

^yte^tig

PUBLIC DRIVE ROUND THE PARK

WEST END OF NORTH GARDEN AND NORTHWARD EXTENSION, 1834.

on the west of the North Garden, and a strip on the north
bank of the canal, containing about three acres and a half, and
extending in front of the whole length of the grounds on the
south side of the canal. This northward extension is shown on
the plan above and on the opposite page. An additional ten
acres, along the south-western verge of the South Garden, was
leased from the Crown in 1834. This area was separated from
the Park by a wire fence, and, for a time, used as pasture
land. The rent paid for the whole was £740, but an abatement
was made in 1839, which reduced the amount to £503 7s. 8d.
A good deal of building went on during this decade, and the
most important structures are given in order of time. In the
North Garden an elephant paddock was formed just west of the

TEE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

wapiti house. South of this, the exit turnstile was put up, and
the carriage sweep in front of it was made. In the west end of
the Garden the pheasant aviaries, removed from Kingston Hill,
were erected. Then the first elephant house was built, on the
spot where the mouflons' enclosure now stands. The paddock
contained the pond, which has since been somewhat altered in
shape ; and two dry yards were formed " for the use of the
animals when the ordinary paddocks would be too wet for their
reception." The house was warmed on a novel plan, "the

EAST END OF NORTH GARDEN AND NORTHWARD EXTENSION, 1834.'

chimney being carried round the building beneath the incom-
bustible floor, and the whole of the heat being thus given
out within the house itself" In 1834 the well was bored
near the repository, and a pumping engine erected ; this con-
siderably reduced the cost of the water supply.

The girafife house at first consisted of the central part, the
wings being built later. The space allotted to the animals
received in 1836 was divided into two compartments of
40 ft. by 20 ft. and 20 ft. by 20 ft. respectively, while visitors
passed through the house. Paddocks were added, and a mound
was thrown up in front, and fenced and planted so as to hide
the animals from the view of people in the Public Drive. A
cage at the west end was constructed in 1837 for the orang.

# m

56 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

In the South Garden the ha-ha and glacis along the western
boundary were formed; the Three Island Pond was made,
and others were dug in the newly acquired area; a house
with outside cages for parrots, later used for small mammals,
was built ; and a good deal w^as done in the way of embellish-
ment, by laying out flower-beds and planting ornamental
shrubs. A system of deep drainage was carried out, and check
turnstile gates were erected at the entrance in 1834. Two
years later an exit gate was made into the Mall, as the Broad
Walk was then called; the site of this turnstile was near the
present entrance from the Park.

Soon after the first monkey house was opened the following
letter was received by the Council:

The front of the monkey house is constructed with taste and judgment ;
it is everything that could be wished for the exercise of the animals and the
amusement of the company, but the house or back part of the building is
low and defective, it is unhealthy and inconvenient ; there is not room
enough for the company ; they are suffocated from the confined air and the
stench of the animals, and the animals suffer in return. Ladies have fre-
quently their veils and dresses torn by being pressed too near the dens.

A writer (not improbably Owen himself) in the Zoological
Magazine (1833, p. 96) suggested that Cross's plans should be
followed :

His monkeys, for example, instead of being confined by twos and threes
in close cages, are preserved in a large space, well ventilated and heated,
and defended by a glass frame ; and here they can disport and exercise
themselves throughout the whole winter.

Eventually a new house was erected on the site of the present
eagles' aviary in 1839, and outside cages were added in the
following year.

An Indian elephant, a quagga, and a moose deer, with some
other animals, were purchased in 1831 ; while the Society
acquired by presentation a young Indian elephant from Ceylon,
and a " wild ass from Thibet," which figures in the List as the
Equus hemionus of Pallas. This last-mentioned animal lived
for about seven years in the Menagerie ; the ass was attacked by
a wapiti stag, which broke down the door between the stalls
and gored the animal so terribly that it was necessary to
slaughter it. Special interest attaches to this wild ass. If

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 57

properly described, it was a true kiang, and it has been generally
thought that the first example received by the Society was that
presented by Major Hay in ISSO."^

The larger elephant cost £420, and was a great attraction.
One visitor wrote to the Assistant Secretary suggesting that
the keeper should be dressed " in something of an Asiatic
costume," which could be made at a small cost, and put off
and on in a minute. The material was to be cloth or calico
and a sketch was enclosed to elucidate the description. "The
elephant thus attended," said the writer, " and placed in (what
will by-and-bye be) your beautiful North Garden, will fancy
himself at home, and visitors suppose themselves transported
into Asia." The wife of a helper was " allowed to sell, for
the use of the elephant alone, rolls, cakes, and fruit, under
the direction of the keeper in charge of the animal," but
she was not permitted to vend any fermented or effervescing
liquor. According to a paragraph in the Times of November 23,
she sold in one day to various visitors cakes and buns which
amounted to 36s., "all of which the elephant devoured."

About this time the Council must have had some trouble
owing to interference with the animals by visitors, for copies of
the following notice were set up in the Gardens :

LADIES ARE RESPECTFULLY REQUESTED NOT TO TOUCH
ANY OF THE ANIMALS WITH THEIR PARASOLS, CON-
SIDERABLE INJURY HAVING ARISEN FROM THIS PRACTICE.

In 1S31 the King presented the Royal collection in the
Tower menagerie to the Society, but the animals were not all
cleared till the spring of 1832. In accordance with His Majesty's
wish, duplicates were sent to the Dublin Gardens ; others were
offered to Cross, who accepted some of them. On April 4
there were still in Mr. Cops's charge, at the Tower, two Arctic
bears, t a Bengal sheep, a female leopard, two emus, and a
cinereous eagle, which he was asked to accept, on condition that

* Proceedbigs Zoological Society, 1859, p. 353, Mamm. pi. Ixxiii.
fNot, as one would suppose, polar bears, but brown bears {Ursus arcton). This
species is called the Arctic or European brown bear in early Guides.

58 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

no charge was made for their keep from the time at which they
became the property of the Society. To this Mr. Cops agreed.

No list is given in the Council's Reports of the animals
constituting this Royal gift to the Society. The following, taken
from " The Tower Menagerie " by E. T. Bennett, enumerates the
species represented in that collection in November, 1828 :

A Bengal lion, lioness and cubs, Cape lion (sold), Barbary lioness, tiger
leopards, jaguar, puma, ocelot, caracal, cheetahs (sold), striped and spotted
byoenas, hyaena dog, African bloodhound, wolves, jackals, civet cats, ichneu-
mons, paradoxure, coati, raccoon, black and grizzly bears, Thibet bear (sold),
Bornean bear, macaques and baboons, mongoose, great kangaroo, porcupine,
Indian elephant, Burchell's zebra, llama, sambur, Indian antelope, golden
and sea eagles, bearded and griffon vultures, secretary-bird (killed), deep-
blue macaw (sold), blue-and-yellow macaw, yellow-crested cockatoo, emu,
crowned crane, pelicans, alligator, Indian python, anaconda, and over a
hundred rattlesnakes.

The words in parentheses show how some animals were
disposed of before the Menagerie was given up, and it is doubtful
if all the rest — notably, the elephant and the reptiles — came to
the Gardens. Two facts, noted by Bennett, have not found their
way into general zoological literature. The pelicans^ nested,
and the hen bird sat on three eggs, being assiduously fed by the
male ; and the python incubated fifteen eggs unsuccessfully t

The Sandwich Island goose must be mentioned, for this
species bred pretty freely in the Gardens and at the Farm, and
at Knowsley. Lord Stanley then said : " I have little doubt but
that these birds may be easily established (with a little care and
attention), and form an interesting addition to the stock of
British domesticated fowls." That hope, like so many others
with regard to the domestication of new species, has been
disappointed. The last examples exhibited at the Gardens
were a pair received in 1887 from Mr. Scott Wilson, the
author of " Aves Hawaiienses," who says that " this interesting
species, almost entirely confined as it is to one district of the

• Pelicans have brought off young in the Rotterdam Zoological Garden (see
Der Zoologische Garten, 1872, s. 264, and Proceedings Zoological Society, 1899, p. 827.

t The incubation of the African python in the Jardin des Plantes in 1841 is
usually cited as the first instance in Europe. The same species incubated in the
Zoological Gardens in 1862, and an account by Dr. Sclater appeared in the
Froceedings (pp. 365-8) for that year.

Elephant in his Bath. {See x>. 44.)
From the "Mirror," Sept. 6, 1828.

Giraffes. (See p. 63.)
From the "Saturday Magazine" Sept. 3, 1836.

Plate IZ

TEE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 69

island of Hawaii, is clearly doomed to extinction before many
years are past."

One report respecting the Lake lias been preserved, from
which it appears that in October, 1832, there were on that water
common and wild swans ; Chinese, Canada, white-fronted, bean,
barnacle, and Egyptian geese ; Muscovy ducks and hybrids, shel-
drakes, pintails, wigeon, gadwalls, teal, and wild duck. With
the exception of the last-named species, only one or two pairs
of each were kept. The season was bad; and at that time
there were sixteen goslings and about forty wild ducklings,
exclusive of those which had flown away, but would return in
the winter.

The gallinaceous birds kept on the islands for breeding and
crossing were duck-winged game, Indians, silkies, and bantams-
More than a hundred chicks were hatched out, but the rats took
heavy toll of them. Benjamin Misselbrook, who was afterwards
head-keeper, and retired on a pension in 1889, had charge of
the birds.

Mr. Bryan Hodgson, the British Resident in Nepal, made an
extensive collection of the splendid and interesting pheasants of
that country, as well as of other birds. Nearly a hundred were
despatched from Katmandu ; " many perished in the sultry
plains of India, and nearly the whole of the remainder died
in Calcutta." Of the few that were shipped to England not
one survived the passage. Although greatly disappointed, Mr.
Hodgson did not lose heart, and later attempts were more
successful.

In 1834 an Indian rhinoceros was purchased for a thousand
guineas. It was said to be about four years old ; the length from
the root of the tail to the tip of the snout, in a straight line,
measured 10 ft. 6 in., and the height at the loins was 4 ft. lOJ in.
The Council reported that it " was scarcely inferior in its
dimensions to the largest specimen yet recorded as having
existed in Europe."

Late in the autumn of 1835 a young chimpanzee was
imported from the Gambia. No example of this anthropoid
had as yet been exhibited by the Society. Having received
information of the arrival of the animal at Bristol, the Council
sent down one of the chief keepers to purchase it. In this he

60 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

succeeded ; but found some difficulty in conveying his charge
to London, owing to objections on the part of coach proprietors.
After some delay he obtained two inside places in a night coach.
The chimpanzee proved a good traveller, and reached the
Gardens in excellent health and spirits.

The arrival of this small anthropoid created a great deal of
excitement, quite comparable to that aroused when the hippo-
potamus came, some fifteen years later. Theodore Hook made
it the subject of some verses from which the descriptive lines
are quoted :

The folks in town are nearly wild

To go and see the monkey-child,

In Gardens of Zoology,

Whose proper name is Chimpanzee.

To keep this baby free from hurt,

He's dressed in a cap and a Guernsey shirt ;

They've got him a nurse, and he sits on her knee.

And she calls him her Tommy Chimpanzee.

Tommy's span of life in captivity was short — just six months,
as is stated in the Council's Report for 1837. Broderip wrote
an interesting account of its habits for the Proceedings (1835,
pp. 160-8), from which it is evident that the chimpanzee lived
in the keeper's apartments, and was allowed a considerable
amount of liberty. In an article in the New Monthly (January,
1838) he included what may be called an obituary notice :

Poor dear Tommy, we knew him well, and who is there who was not at
least his visiting acquaintance ? . . . . Peace be with him ! Everybody
loved him ; everybody was kind to him. In his last illness he was suffered
to come forth for a closer enjoyment of the kitchen-fire ; and there we saw
him sit, " leaning his cheek upon his hand," watching the gyrations of a
depending shoulder of mutton, as it revolved and hissed between him and
the glowing grate— no, not with the prying mischievous eyes of ordinary
monkeys ; but with a pensive philosophic air that seemed to admit his own
inferiority, and to say— "Ah ! man is, indeed, the cooking animal."*

Gibbons were exhibited in 1839, so that before the end of
the first decade three of the four anthropoid apes had come
into the possession of the Society.f

*Thi8 animal was the subject of Owen's paper "On the Morbid Appearances
observed in the Dissection of the Chimpanzee," in Froceedvigs, 1836, p. 41.
t Proceedings, 1839, p. 148.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 61

In the Report issued on April 29, 1836, reference is made to
the expected arrival of the giraffes obtained by M. Thibaut, and
to previous attempts to obtain examples:

In the earlier years of the Society's existence the acquisition of this
singular and rare animal was among the most important objects to which
the attention of the Council was directed, and they made many inquiries
as to the most probable means of effecting it, and even named a price
which would be paid for one or two of them on their being delivered in
good health at the Society's Gardens.

These efforts go back, at any rate, to 1831, and Mr. Money
Wigram, a Fellow of the Society, had a hand in the negotiations.
On March 28 he wrote to Mr. Vigors to the effect that he could
give no particulars as to the price of the giraffe then daily
expected to arrive, since the owner was absent from England.
He offered to use his best endeavours to obtain a preference for
the Zoological Society in having the refusal, but expressed his
own opinion that, " provided he [the giraffe] arrives in London
in perfect health, the price to be paid for him ought not to be a
consideration, under the difficulty of obtaining such an animal in
this country at all." Five days later Mr. Vigors was informed,
by another hand, that the "Geraffe on board the Lady
McNaughte7t is dead, but they reserved the skin of it." At
the same time the writer offered an Indian elephant for four
hundred guineas, stating that " Mr. Yates, of the Adelphia,"
was "rather urgent to get it." The animal was purchased by
Mr. Yates, and in Broderip's " Zoological Recreations " (p. 320)
there is a reference to " the sagacious acting of the elephant
at the Adelphi."

In September, 1833, Mr. Charles Phillips made overtures to
the Society, on behalf of Messrs. Phillips and King, with respect
to a giraffe shipped from the Cape of Good Hope. An agreement
was signed by which the Society consented to pay £500 for the
animal, if on arrival it was approved by the Council. A building
was to be erected for it in the Gardens, where it was to form a
special show, for which all visitors other than Fellows and
holders of privileges were to be charged one shilling each. For
the space of a twelvemonth this money was to be paid over to
Messrs. Phillips and King.

The agreement, however, was not carried out. On Sept. 27

62 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

Mr. Phillips received news that the giraffe had died when the
vessel was a few days out from Cape Town. " Its appetite was
good till within half an hour of its death, and until then it
appeared quite healthy." Information was at once given to the
Council, by whom Mr. Phillips was formally thanked " for the
kind and cordial manner in which he had acted."

Messrs. Cannell and Wright offered a giraffe in November,
1834, on behalf of a correspondent then at Genoa. In their
letter the animal was described as being six years old, fifteen
feet high, with a beautiful figured skin, acclimated, and in
excellent health, strong, and vigorous. It Avas said to live on
beans and barley mixed, green herbage, bread, and fruit. The
price was 10,000 Spanish dollars, with delivery in Genoa. Taking
the dollar at a little under four shillings, this amounts to nearly
£2,000, probably the largest sum ever asked for a giraffe. An
endorsement on the letter shows that the Council were " un-
willing to treat for the purchase at a high price of an animal
at a distance from London."

At the close of 1833 an arrangement was made with
M. Thibaut, then at Cairo, to proceed to Nubia to procure giraffes
for the Society. The animals were to be delivered in Malta, " and
it was not until his landing of them in that island that he was
entitled to receive the stipulated price, which was fixed at a rate
for each individual, diminishing in proportion to the number
that he should succeed in bringing with him."

The story of his expedition is told in a letter addressed by
M. Thibaut to the Secretary, which was read at the meeting of
February 9, 1836, and printed in the Proceedings for that year
(pp. 9-12). He left Cairo in April, 1834, for Kordofan, where
he obtained five giraffes, four of which were killed by the cold
weather on the return route to Dongola. Another journey into
the desert resulted in the capture of three more giraffes, which,
with that left at Dongola, were sent down the Nile from Wadi
Haifa to Cairo and Alexandria, whence they were shipped to
Malta, where they arrived on November 21. After a quarantine
of twenty-five days they were removed to convenient quarters,
and the stipulated sum of £700 was paid to M. Thibaut. The
Council determined to avail themselves of his experience with
respect to the treatment of these valuable animals, and arranged

PLATE IV.

THREE ISLAND POND.

(See p. 56.)

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 63

that he should take charge of them till their arrival in England,
when he was to have " a handsome present proportioned to
his success."

The steamer Manchester, with its interesting freight, arrived
at the Brunswick Wharf, Blackwall, on May 24, 1836. On the
following morning at daybreak the giraffes were landed in the
presence of several naturalists and friends of the Society. The
following account of their journey through London is from the
Morning Herald of May 26 :

These interesting animals were conveyed yesterday morning from
Blackwall to the Zoological Gardens. They left the former place at three
o'clock, attended by Mr. Bennett, the Secretary of the Society ; M. Thibaut,
who was attired in an Arab dress ; the Nubian and Maltese attendants ; and
a detachment of the Metropolitan police to keep the road clear of obstruc-
tions, and they arrived at the Gardens about six o'clock. The cavalcade
had altogether a very novel appearance ; but it appeared that the precau-
tions were absolutely necessary, as the animals started at the slightest
noise, and the different cabs and other conveyances on the line were
solicited to remove into the adjacent streets, which was in every case
attended to without objection. Some alarm was occasioned to the animals
in passing a field in the Commercial Road, where a cow was grazing ; and
it required some inducement to cause them to go forward, but they w^ere
conducted to the Gardens without much difficulty, The Gardens were
yesterday visited by great numbers of persons, with whom the animals were
great sources of attraction from their stately appearance, the beauty and
symmetry of their neck and ears, and striking prominence of their eyes.
The oldest is about twenty months, and none have attained their full size,
which is ordinarily eighteen feet. They appeared to be quite reconciled to
their situation in the elephant-house, and to be not at all incommoded
by visitors.

Owen and his wife witnessed the arrival of " the most lovely
procession imaginable." The animals were brought in through
Gloucester Gate, and when they caught sight of the trees they
became excited, and M. Thibaut directed that they should be
allowed to browse. In her Diary, under the date of May 25,
Mrs. Owen wrote : " They were delighted apparently to get into
the Gardens, and were soon safe and unhaltered in the elephants'
new house." ^

In the following table the history of the herd is set out.
Seventeen calves were born in the Gardens, and of these one

* " Life of Eichard Owen," i. 99.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

(No. 8) lived for nearly twenty-one years in confinement, which
is probably a record: —

No.

Sex.

How Obtained.

Imported May 24,* 1836 .

Born m Menagerie, June 19, 1839
„ „ May 24, 1841

))

Feb. 25, 1844

April 22, 1846

Feb. 12, 1849

Presented by Ibrahim Pasha,

June 29, 1849

Purchas

ed June 29, 1849

Born in

Menagerie

, March 30, 1852

))

April 25, 1853

„

May 7, 1855

July 16, 1859

5»

May 26, 1861

October 7, 1861

5»

May 8, 1863

))

Sept. 24, 1863

March 31, 1865

April 20, 1865

Sept. 14, 1866

»»

March 17, 1867

How Disposed of.

Died October 15, 1852
„ October 29, 1846
„ January 14, 1849
„ January 6, 1837
„ June 28, 1839

Pres. to Dublin Zool.
Soc, June 14, 1844

Died December 30, 1853
„ January 22, 1867

Sold April 27, 1850

Died November 3, 1856

Sold October 29, 1853

„ March 29, 1853

Died May 21, 1872

„ November 6, 1866

„ December 2, 1859

Sold May 1, 1863

Died December 18, 1861

„ November 18, 1863

„ April 21, 1864

„ April 3, 1865

Sold May 31, 1866

Died November 6, 1866

„ June 20, 1881

As soon as Cross heard of the probable arrival of the giraffes
he applied to the Council to be allowed to purchase one on their
own terms. They did not accede to his request, and he instructed
Mr. Warwick, who had gone out, to procure some at all risks ;
and three arrived in July. In a pamphlet, written by Mr.
Warwick, he says the giraffes were removed from the place
where they were captured to Cairo " in boats and on the backs
of camels, a distance of thirty-five days' journey."

The first recorded instance of the birth of a giraffe in cap-
tivity took place in the Gardens in June, 1839. The animal was

* The Occuxrence sheets are made up in the morning of the day following that
for which they are dated. The giraffes arrived some hours before the sheet for
May 24 was filled in, and were consequently entered thereon. This accounts for
the discrepancy between the date in the table, compiled from the sheet, and that
given in Mrs. Owen's Diary and the Mor)nng Herald.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 65

a male, and, like other ruminants, came into the world with
the eyes open and the hoofs disproportionately large.

The skin was marked as distinctly as in the adult, with large angular
spots, which were somewhat darker than those of the mother; and the hair
of the legs was of a deeper fawn colour. It sucked some warm cow's milk
from a bottle with avidity, and once or twice uttered a low, gentle grunt or
bleat, something between that of a fawn and a calf. The young creature
made several efforts to stand, raising itself on the fore knees ; and was
able to support itself on its vacillating and out-stretched legs about
two hours after its birth.*

It was necessary to feed the young animal on warm cow's
milk, for the dam would not allow it to come near her. It
gambolled actively about when a day old, and continued with
no appearance of illness till June 28, when it was attacked by
convulsions and died.

In 1837 the first orang was exhibited in a cage at the west
end of the giraffe house, where it lived till May 7, 1839.
Jenny was about three years old when she arrived, and
attracted a large number of visitors to the Gardens. Broderip
described her as " apparently amiable, though grave and of a
sage deportment."

In the last year of this decade Captain Belcher presented a
babirusa, the strange '' pig-deer" of Celebes, the first to reach
England alive. The Argus pheasant — the plumage of which,
with its wonderful ball-and-socket eye-spots, was investigated
and described by Darwint in his " Descent of Man " — and the
iire-backed pheasant, from Malacca, were also introduced to the
Menagerie. The first example of this " fire-back " was obtained
in Sumatra by Sir Stamford Baffles. It appears to be fairly
common in the neighbourhood of Malacca, but, according to
Mr. W. R. Ogilvie- Grant, nothing is known of its eggs or
nesting habits.

The Council called special attention in their Report for 1836
'' to a donation by H.R.H. the Princess Victoria of two musk
deer." J In the following year the Princess ascended the throne,
and signified her pleasure to become the Patroness of the Society,

* Owen, in Proceedings, 1839, p. 109.

t Elected a Corresponding Member in 1831 and a Fellow in 1839.

:|: These were Stanleyan chevrotains. See p. 142.

66 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

in which she took great interest, and which she enriched by
many valuable gifts and deposits.

It was proposed in 1834 to engage a military band as an
additional attraction, but the Council did not think it expedient-
By way of protest, one Fellow wrote, in strong terms and with a
good deal of underlining, to the Secretary, declining to continue
his subscription to the Museum Fund "in consequence of the
Council refusing, in a most extraordinary manner, to attend to
the wishes of the Society twice voted at their meetings this
year, that they should try the experiment of having the band
once or twice on week-days." The Avriter suggested that the
Museum Fund might well be increased " by voluntary contribu-
tions while the band played."

Thomas Landseer's designs for the medal were approved by
the Council in 1837, and the dies made by Mr. Benjamin Wyon.
The work was much admired ; and Dr. Cox wrote from Naples
asking for impressions " to show to some of the artists of Italy,"
as he was sure that the design and execution would be " honour-
able to the Art of England." The application was granted :
there could only be one answer to such a flattering request.

It will be convenient to consider the practical work in
London and at Kingston together. Early in the 'thirties the
Society, being anxious " to do all in their power towards the
promotion of the best kinds of poultry and domestic animals,"
sought the advice of breeders on the subject. A circular con-
taining the following questions was sent out, in the hope that the
replies would be of service " in the choice of subjects that would
deserve to be encouraged by premiums." It is noteworthy that
fancy points are disregarded, and stress is laid on the qualities
now distinguished as "utility."

1. What kind of Poultry do you consider the best for the table and the
most kindly to fatten ?

2. Are the Poultry which principally fall under your notice consisting of
any particular pure breed, or are they mixed breeds?

3. What kind of Fowls do you consider are the most productive layers,^
and which are the best sitters?

4. What race do you consider it most proper to encourage, as combining
the three properties of beauty of form and plumage, good layers, and
careful nurses— and which are most esteemed in the neighbourhood in
which you reside ?

TEE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 67

5. Have you any race of Game Fowl which is celebrated for courage,
beauty, and productiveness ; and is there any other race which is
deserving of special attention %

6. What race of Ducks do you particularly recommend ; and are they of
a large kind, early and prolific breeders, as well as of good flavour 1

7. Is there any particular race of Geese, Turkeys, Guinea- Fowl, or any
other kind of Poultry which is peculiar to your neighbourhood, or which
you consider desirable to make known, and state the race?

8. Do you know of any Society in your neighbourhood which offers
Premiums for the finest kinds of Poultry which is open to competition for
any person, whether Member or not?

9. Do you believe that any benefit would arise from offering Premiums
for fine kinds of Poultry? Do you think it would tend to excite more
attention to breeding pure races, and that it would be likely to multiply
good and valuable breeds?

10. Do you think that under the present state of the Game Laws the
domestication of Pheasants and other Game will be more generally
attempted, and is it your opinion that this would be promoted by offering
Premiums for that object ?

A Committee was appointed, which recommended that pre-
miums should be offered (1) for the importation of living animals
of value not hitherto introduced into this country; (2) for
breeding and rearing stock from those introduced, which had
not yet bred freely. The following species were enumerated
under the two classes :

Europe.— (1) Any non-British grouse. (2) Bustard, eider-duck, any
species of grouse.

Africa.— (1) Mitred guinea-fowl, any of the bustards. (2) Little
bustard, ostrich.

Asia. — (1) Crested guinea-fowl, any Nepaul pheasant, Argus pheasant,
fire- backed pheasant. (2) Crowned pigeon, Indian fowl, Javan pea-fowl,
mandarin duck.

New Holland. — (1) Lyre-bird, duck-billed platypus, and spiny
anteater.

America. — (1) Any of the grouse, turkeys, canvas-backed duck.
(2) Mocking bird, any of the wild swans or snow geese.

All animals that received premiums were to be exhibited,
under certain conditions, at the Gardens. It does not appear
that this scheme was carried out ; and poultry shows were not
instituted till the next decade. Many varieties of fowls were
bred and exhibited, and broods were distributed by sale and
exchange. In the collection were some interesting hybrids —

68 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

Reeves's pheasant x common pheasant (no hen bird of the
first-named species was as yet imported) ; common x golden
pheasant, guinea-fowl x pheasant, and duck x sheldrake ;
but these were acquired by presentation.

Instructions were given by the Council to the Superintendent
that " arrangements should be made to train the dragon pigeons
to fly long distances." In turn the Superintendent recommended
that the two half-bred zebras, the offspring of a common ass and
a mountain and a Burchell zebra respectively, " should be trained
to draw the small cart belonging to the Garden." The use of
them, he suggested, would be appropriate to the character of the
Society, "besides which, they would attract attention," These
animals were bred at Windsor, and presented to the Society by
William IV. They were afterwards trained to draw a light cart,
used to bring vegetables from Covent Garden market. In 1838
Youatt wrote to the Council with respect to the risk incurred in
using entire animals for draught, adding that it was dangerous
" both to man and beast to go into their paddock." One sen-
tence in his letter is of interest, as showing that, in his opinion,
equine hybrids might be used for stud purposes : " If you intend
to keep the younger hybrid for the purposes of breeding, or to
experiment with him in any way, well and good." If, however,
the animal was to be used for draught, Youatt advised that
it should be treated in the ordinary way ; failing this, " he will
be ten times more vicious than either of the quaggas." *

Records with respect to breeding were not then kept as care-
fully as they are now, when every instance, small or great, is
entered on the " Occurrences," and the aggregate summarised in
the Annual Report. Towards the close of 1837 or early in 1838
a wish was expressed by someone at a monthly meeting that
details should be furnished of the results attending the Society's
efforts in the breeding of animals. In the Report presented at
the Anniversary Meeting, April 30, 1838, the following record,
" selected from a more extended list," and showing the number
of young in each case, was printed :

Mammals.— Dromedary (1), Burchell's zebra (1), nylghaie (9), Stanley
musk deer (2), Napu musk deer(l), busli kangaroo (2), greater kangaroo (7),

* A stallion hybrid is always a terror. — Major Birkbeck, Bemount Department,
Johannesburg, in Proceedings, 1903, i. 2,

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 69

peccary (2), African porcupine (1), six-banded armadillo (5), puma (3),
Persian cat (8).

Birds.— Emu (12), gold pheasant (5), silver pheasant (1), cross-bred
Keeves's (1), Sonnerat's jungle-fowl (16), American quail (18), bronze-
winged pigeon (4), white-crowned pigeon (2), black-swan (12), cereopsis
goose (1), Sandwich Island goose (8), Egyptian goose (34), Canada goose (3),
Chinese goose (5), summer duck (34), mandarin duck (9).

The following letter shows how species, then rare, were distri-
buted, as well as the influence possessed by Yarrell, even after he
resigned the secretaryship :

Woburn Abbey, July 2, 1838.

The Duke of Bedford presents his compliments to Mr. Yarrell, and begs
to know whether he can spare him a Cereopsis male goose from the
Zoological Gardens.

The Duke of Bedford had his birds originally through the kindness of
Lord Derby ; but he is now in want of a male, and knows not where they
are to be procured, unless the Zoological Society should have one to spare.

This is endorsed, but not by Yarrell : " The breeding season
is over this year ; if we can spare one next spring we will."

The only available literature for the Farm is the Report
bearing date March, 1832, of which very few copies exist. It is
not a very satisfactory document, dealing largely in generalities
when details would be welcome. From it, however, one can
learn something about the extent of the housing and the char-
acter of the stock. There were places for the " roosting, laying,
and sitting of poultry," hutches for rabbits, and lofts for fancy
pigeons ; covered shed with paddocks, aviaries and pheasantries ;
an extensive range of sheds and yards, the former constructed
from materials brought from Windsor, used for animals from the
Royal menagerie ; ponds with lawns for aquatic fowl, and open
sheds for animals at grass. At this time the staff consisted of a
Superintendent, a head-keeper, an assistant who looked after the
Windsor animals, a keeper for the mammals and one for the
birds, two labourers, and a night watchman. Owing to the con-
stant exchange of animals between the Park and the Farm the
head-keeper at the Gardens occasionally went down to Kingston
Hill, and the Committee acknowledged much benefit to both
branches of the establishment from his advice and assistance.

Among the stock were wapiti, red, sambur, axis, Virginian, and
fallow deer. Of the last-named, specimens had been " recently

70 THE ZOOLOOIGAL SOCIETY.

obtained in order to carry on certain experiments in physio-
logical inquiry, at the suggestion of one of the Fellows of the
Society." One would like to know what these and other experi-
ments were. The wapiti were to be " trained for drawing and
riding," but it does not appear that anything was done. There
was a small stock of zebus, and it was proposed to utiUse the
Brahmin bull at the Park. Nylghaie and mouflon bred there ;
foreign varieties of sheep were kept ; a Wallachian ram was
crossed with Dorset ewes, and " at the desire of some of the
Fellows " a trial was made " of crossing Southdown ewes with
the goat as well as with axis deer." Lord Stanley was specially
interested in sheep x goat and goat x sheep hybrids. A note
from him to Dr. J. E. Gray is printed in the " Gleanings from
Knowsley," p. 53 : "I intend to try to produce the Tityrus-
Musimon, according to the quaint distich given in Griffith's
translation of Cuvier (iv. 311).""^ Kangaroos bred freely, and
the observations of Joseph Fuller, the head-keeper, on the period
of gestation and the condition of the new-born foetus were
included in Owen's paper on the subject. t

Great hopes were entertained of the results of crossing zebras
with asses. To this end a Maltese jack was purchased for £80
in 1831. This animal was described as possessing " every quality
to induce the recommendation of breeding from him exten-
sively." It was hoped that in this way a useful stock of
hardy and more powerful beasts of draught might be procured ;
but in this respect, as well as in the projected trials of the
capabihty of reproduction in mules, no definite information is
given.

* The " quaint distich "' consists of the fourth and fifth of the following
hexameters : —

DB AMBIGENIS.

Hse sunt amhigenae quaB nuptu dispare constant.
Burdonem sonipes generat commixtus asellse.
Mulus ab Arcadicis et equina matre creatus.
Tityrus ex ovibus oritur hircoque parente.
Musimonem capra ex vervegno semine gignit.
Apris atque sue setosus nascitur Ibris.
At lupus et catula formant coeundo lyciscam.

These verses are attributed to Eugenius, Bishop of Toledo, and are printed in
the " Anthologia Veterum " of Peter Burmann the Younger (ed. 1759, ii. 453).
i Proceedings, 1833, pp. 128-132.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

Experiments in dog-breeding were proposed, but nothing
practical seems to have been done. There was a suggestion that
fox cubs and terrier puppies should be reared together, and kept
loose in an enclosed place. A similar proposal was made with
respect to hares and rabbits, the object in each case being to
produce hybrids. The possibility of the hare x rabbit cross
was not doubted at that time ; and at the meeting of May 10,
1831, a letter was read giving the history of a supposed hare x
rabbit hybrid that had been kept at the Farm, though not bred
there. The evidence of parentage is not convincing ; it is, how-
ever, of interest to know that the cadaver was examined by
Owen, who reported that the size and colour were those of the
hare, but the hinder legs were shorter than in that species,
agreeing rather with those of the rabbit. The length of its
small intestines corresponded with that of the hare ; its coecum
was seven inches shorter; while its large intestines measured
one foot more than those of the hare.

The struthious birds consisted of three pairs of emus and a
pair of ostriches. The hen ostrich laid two eggs, one of which
was placed under a sitting emu, but the result is not recorded.

Under the heading " GalHnaceous Birds " there is some in-
formation about the curassows. Those turned out in the previous
summer " soon acquired all the habits of domestic fowls, remain-
ing quiet in the yards, and roosting with the turkeys." It was
not, however, till 1834 that three were hatched at Stubton
Hall, Lincolnshire, from eggs laid by birds belonging to the
Society, and sent down to Sir Robert Heron's place. These
were probably the first reared in England.

Peafowl, turkeys, and guinea-fowl were kept. Observations
were made on various breeds of poultry to discover the best
foster-mothers, as they were then called. Other points investi-
gated were " the comparative quality of the different kinds as
layers, and the different qualities of their eggs." A good many
crosses were obtained, and the birds were " upon trial, as nurses,
as being ornamental, or of utility for the table." Even at this
early date there was a desire to obtain pheasants from Nepal ;
grouse were to be kept, and an attempt made to breed partridges
and stock-doves in confinement.

There is little to note concerning aquatic birds. Cereopsis

.»%%

72 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

geese bred, and so did a good many of the fancy ducks. The
difficulty of reconciling the conditions necessary for breeding
with those requisite for exhibition were felt. Thus the mandarin
ducks did not increase at the Park as it was hoped they would
do, and it was proposed to send them to the Farm. They were,
however, a great attraction to visitors, for, though examples had
been introduced into England in the first half of the eighteenth
century,"^ the birds were unknown to the general public.

One reason why the breeding lists at the Farm were not
greater will probably be found in the influx of visitors. Some
Fellows seem to have looked upon the establishment at Kingston
Hill as a convenient place for picnics. A little light is thrown
on this subject by the subjoined letter from Mr. Papps, the
Superintendent, to the Assistant Secretary, who had asked for
information as to the refusal, on the previous Sunday, to admit
a party furnished with a Fellow's order. The rule appears to
have been that personal introduction was necessary, though it
was not always enforced. Mr. Papps wrote :

The orders of the Council were perhaps more strictly followed than
usual, in consequence of the conduct of a party of seventeen persons intro-
duced by a Lady of Title on Sunday week, and who dined on the lawn and
amused themselves with hunting the zebras and kangaroos about — upsetting
the coops, and carrying the ducks about in their arms, and afterwards
pouring Punch or something similar into their pans. The Men were kept
till past 10 o'clock searching for the ducks after the Party had left, and
seven ducks died the next day in consequence of the treatment they had
received.

This evil was, no doubt, soon remedied. A more serious
drawback to the usefulness of the Farm, inasmuch as it caused
an alteration in the system, was the introduction of the large
stock of animals from Windsor, " the keep and accommodation
of which were of considerable magnitude, so far as relates to
expense." Nevertheless, the Committee were of opinion that
the additional expenditure had essentially conduced to the
well-being of the Society. They concluded their report with a
recommendation of " patient perseverance in one uniform system,

* The figure in Edwards's "Natural History of Uncommon Birds" (pt. ii.,
London, 1747) was drawn by him at Richmond, in Surrey, from the living bird
kept in the gardens of Sir Matthew Decker, Bart. The species was then known as
the '* Chinese teal."

Elephant and Calf. (See p. 110.)
From the ^' Illustratnl London News,'^ April 26, 1851.

Death of Jack. (-See p. 88.)
From the "Illustrated London News," June 19, 1847.

Plate 14.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

being fully convinced that unsteadiness of purpose and frequent
change of plan are the certain means of preventing success."

The Council considered the recommendations very carefully,
and requested the Committee and Mr. Yarrell to continue their
superintendence at Kingston Hill, fixing the annual expenditure
at a sum not exceeding £1,400. To render this possible, reduc-
tions were made in the stock and the number of persons employed-

ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS.

DUPLICATE SPECIBIENS

OF MANY OF THE ANIMALS IN THE COLLECTION OF THE ZOOLOGICAL
SOCIETY. AT THEIR GARDENS, IN THE REGENTS PARK.

INCLDDlXO

i^tbrral J^t&ti of 2!2flapttf, i^ambur, anlJ Corsiiran JBtn,

ASD TWO FALLOW BUCKS,
A VINE BRAHMIN COW, AND A VARIETY OT SHESP.

A TAILIU Alius £aAIUS ISflii^TISSIS ASSs

RABBITS, &c.

/in EtHH, Chinese 4' Canada Geese, Muscovy Ducks, Pigeons, and PoHftry

of various kinds, and some Hybrids ;

tSXW^ tDtll tt folli Iiff auction, b^ fiSltitn.

RUSHWORTH AND JARVIS,

SUCCESSORS TO MR. SQUIBB,

At the ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS,

iSlegtnt'js; ^arft,
On THURSDAY, March 20, 1834, at 1 o' Clock,

BY ORDER OF THE COUNCIL.

M»v U viewed at ibe Gardens on the usual Tenns of Admission, where Catalogues may U h»{< .

at the Society's Office, Bruton-streel ; and of Messrs. Rushworth & Jabvis.

Auctioneers and Land Sunreyors, Saville Row.

No later Keport seems to have been printed. The leasehold land
was given up in 1834, and an agent was instructed to dispose of
the rest. Some years, however, elapsed before this was done,
and not till then did entries respecting the Farm disappear from
the balance-sheet. Surplus stock from Kingston Hill, and
duplicates from the Park, were sold by public auction. In the
Eeport presented at the annual meeting on April 29, 1833, the

74 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

Council stated that the practice was " not only impartial towards
those who were desirous of becoming purchasers, but advantageous
also to the Society." It was not, however, of long continuance,
probably because the Farm stock was soon disposed of. The
first sale took place on June 28, 1832, and the last known
catalogue is that of which the title-page is reproduced on the
previous page.

There were thirty-six lots ; and, despite the optimistic views
of the Council, the prices cannot be considered high. A pair of
Chinese geese went for 10s., two gold-spangled Polish fowls for
19s. ; a ram and two ewes, bred between a Wallachian ram and
Dorset ewes, for £3 3s. ; a wapiti hind for £4 4s., and two fallow
bucks for £6 6s. The Maltese jack was bought in for £23.

The premises in Bruton Street soon became crowded, and it
was determined to look out for a building suitable for a Museum,
or a site whereon one might be erected. When the Council
made known their wants in this respect, many replies were
received. On March 31, 1831, Marc Isambard Brunei wrote
thus:

It has been reported in the papers that the Zoological Society had in
conteraplation of purchasing the Colosseum ; if so, which it is to be hoped will
he the case, I beg to suggest that, instead of the Panorama of London, the
Society may substitute the Georama in true and classic proportions. It
will be the most splendid Exhibition that can be offered to the country ;
it will be the university for some of the most useful sciences of ours and of
future days— Zoology, Geology, Mineralogy, Geography, etc., etc., com-
mercial, military, and political relations.

Mr. Brunei offered to go into details of his scheme if the
Society wished for further information. Apparently there was no
such wish, and the matter dropped. Mr. C. Willson's offer of
the Egyptian Hall was also declined.

Donations for the Museum came in rapidly, and the col-
lection soon acquired larger dimensions than that in the British
Museum. The Government sent many valuable contributions ;
the Secretary of State presented specimens of the different
species collected by Sir John Franklin's expedition, to which
Dr. (afterwards Sir John) Richardson was naturalist; while
from the Lords of the Admiralty were received the greater
portion of the zoological collections made by Captain Foster,

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 75

of the Chanticleer, and the whole of that brought home by
Captain King, of the Adventure, during the three years' survey
of the southern coast of Patagonia. Darwin, too, was a generous
donor, though he seems to have had some difficulty in
placing his collections. He wrote, somewhat despondingly,
to Henslow :

I do not even find that the Collectors care for receiving the unnamed
specimens. The Zoological Museum [in Bruton Street] is nearly full, and
upwards of a thousand specimens remain unmounted. I daresay the
British Museum would receive them, but I cannot feel, from all I hear, any
great respect even for the present state of that establishment.*

All the prominent Fellows contributed liberally, and it was
the custom to chronicle donations in the annual Report, in the
same way as gifts to the Menagerie were recorded. Two skins
of the kiwi presented by the New Zealand Association in 1837,
and the body of a bird of the same species, sent by Lord Derby
in the same year, deserve special mention.

The house had to serve as offices ; meetings were held there,
and it was also used as a prosectorium. In Mrs. Owen's Diary,
under date January 5, 1836, there is the entry: " Richard went to
Bruton Street to cut up an ostrich." f And from the Council's
Report presented at the Anniversary Meeting in that year it
appears that the crowded condition of the rooms where the
specimens were exhibited gave them "rather the confused air
of a store than the appearance of an arranged museum." As
a consequence the exhibition was less attractive than it had
been in the early years of its establishment.

A larger house. No. 28, Leicester Square,J was taken, in 1836,
for offices and the Museum, and the transfer was made by the
end of June. The house was formerly occupied by John Hunter,
and contained his famous museum, now in the keeping of the
Royal College of Surgeons. Of that great collection Owen and
Flower were both Conservators, though not in direct succession,
for Quekett's short term of office intervened; and both had
charge of the national zoological collections, the one as Super-
intendent, the other as Director.

* ''Life and Letters of Charles Darwin," i. 273.
t " Life of Richard Owen," i. 92.
X The Alhambra stands on the site.

TEE ZOOLOGICAL 800IETY.

The ticket, here reproduced, is of about this date ; and the
small- type extract below the signature is evidence of a change
with regard to the admission of persons other than Fellows
on Sundays.

ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON.

ADMIT

AND PARTY,

TO THS GARDENS^ HSGENT'S PABK^

TO THZ Z^USBVM^ 28, ZiI!ICE3TSIl SQUAHE,

BY ORDER OF

Extract from Regulations. — 'Strangers may be admitted either to
the Gardens or Museum, by Orders from Fellows, upon payment of Is.
by each Person. — Fellows with two Companions, Persons holding named
Tickets with one Comi)anion, and Honorary, Foreign and Correspond-
ing Members, only can be admitted on Sundays.' — The Gardens are open
from Nine o'clock, a.m. to Sunset; the Museum from Ten to Five.

Just about the time when the offices at Leicester Square
were opened, an article on the Society appeared in the Quarterly
Review which contained some interesting references to the
Museum and the literature describing the collections:

We well remember the first public meeting for forming such an estab-
lishment [the Zoological Society] in England. It seems but yesterday— how
thefugaces anni have sped along ! — that Davy drew attention to the subject,
and Raffles so powerfully seconded the proposition. These great men have
since passed away to the house appointed for all living, but the Garden and
Museum of the Zoological Society of London are not to be forgotten in the
catalogue of their public services.

The author quoted the Annettes des Sciences of November,
1835, and the instructions of M. de Blainville for the voyage of
LaBonite to show that the Zoological Museum possessed "many
specimens wanting in the French collections " (i.e. of the Jardin
des Plantes), and continued :

That these materials have not been neglected is proved by the five
volumes of Proceedings already published, containing the descriptions of

Roman Runts.

Spangled Turkey.

Polish Fowls.

Fowls from China.

Silver Spangled Fowls.

Common Goose. Ducks.

SOME WINNERS OF THE FIRST POULTRY SHOW. (See p. 95.
From the "Illustrated London News," June 21, 1845.

Plate 15.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY, 77

hundreds of new species, and a vast miscellany of zoological and physio-
logical information set forth by some of our ablest pens.

In 1838 the Catalogue of the Mammalia in the Museum,
which had been compiled by Mr. G. R. Waterhouse, was pub-
lished, and went into a second edition. It is an excellent piece
of work, as a short extract will show :

293. The Cryptoprocta . . From Madagascar.

Cryptoprocta ferox . . Bennett.
Presented by Charles Telfair, Esq., Corresponding Member.
Original of Mr. Bennett's description and figure in
Trans. Zool. Soc, vol. i. p. 137, pi. xiv. ; see also Proc. Zool.
Soc, 1833, p. 46.

Thus, for new or rare species the visitor had references to
the literature, which he could look up on the premises if he
were a Fellow. As Curator, Mr. Waterhouse was responsible for
the labels ; British species were distinguished by the popular
names being printed in red ink.

The Council inserted the following notice of the Museum in
the Report presented to the annual meeting in 1839:

Under this head may be included a notice of the acts by which the
Society, as one of the scientific associations of this country, has contributed
to the advancement of zoology during the past year. The Museum is, in
fact, essential to the well and profitably-conducting of the business of the
evening meetings : in the Museum are performed the greater part of the
dissections of the rarer animals ....;* and lastly, to the Museum the
zoologist from abroad or at home resorts for the solution of his doubts and
inquiries, and for the comparison of his own varieties with the rich and
well-arranged series of specimens which now constitute so important and
valuable a department of the property of the Society.

In the closing year of this decade the collections included
1,794 mammals, of 800 distinct species; 5,418 birds, of about
3,000 species, with rather more than the same number in reserve.
Of reptiles, 1,034 specimens, and 1,260 of fishes were exhibited.
The osteological collection consisted of 386 perfect skeletons,
and 700 mammalian skulls: of the former there were 300 in
store, and the rest were exhibited.

* Owen acted as an unpaid prosector. Under date of June 3, 1840, there is an
entry in the minutes of Council to the effect that the Hunterian Professor should
he allowed to dissect whenever and whatever he liked, when deaths occurred at the
Gardens, and he was to have precedence over everyone else.

78 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY,

The meetings of the Committee of Science and Correspon-
dence were held periodically till December 11, 1832. On
January 3, 1833, new bye-laws were passed, by which the
General Meetings for the transaction of scientific business were
instituted. These were open to the Fellows and their friends.
The first was held on January 8, when Mr. Joseph Sabine was in
the chair, and papers were read by Messrs. Bennett, Broderip,
Grant, and Yarrell. At the Anniversary Meeting in April the
bye-laws were confirmed, and the first Publication Committee
appointed. The Proceedings were carried on ; and in August,
1833, the first part of the first volume of the Transactions was
published.

Numerous interesting communications were made at the
scientific meetings by the foremost zoologists of the time. The
following were the chief contributors : T. Bell, E. T. Bennett (61)
Blyth, Broderip, Joshua Brookes, J. E. Gray (59), John Gould
(74), Marshall Hall, Bryan Hodgson, Rev. W. Kirby, W. Martin
(44), W. Ogilby (29), Owen (78), John Richardson, Andrew
Smith, W. H. Sykes, N. A. Yigors (20), G. R. Waterhouse (29),
and Yarrell (46). The figures in parentheses show the number
of communications made during the decade. Owen heads the
list, with anatomical work at that time unrivalled ; Martin's
papers dealt chiefly with morbid anatomy; Gould's were con-
cerned with birds, and included valuable field notes ; Gray's were
systematic ; while those of Bennett, Vigors, and Yarrell were
more general in scope. Some papers by the last-named author
are worth recalling — notably those on Change of Plumage (1833,
pp. 9, 54) — in that the}^ are based on observations on the animals
in the Society's Menagerie. Darwin contributed some notes on
ground-finches of the Galapagos Islands (1833, p. 49); and in
1839 (pp. 2-4) A. D. Bartlett put in his first paper, which dealt
with the pink-footed goose and nearly allied species.

The first volume of Transactions, issued in 1835, contained
forty- three memoirs, the most important being by Bell, E. T.
Bennett, G. Bennett, Broderip, Gould, Lowe, MacLeay, Owen,
and Rtippell. In a notice that appeared in the Annales des
Sciences for June, 1835, this volume was characterised as " un
recueil egalement remarquable par I'interet des memoires qui
s'y publient et par le luxe avec lequel il est imprim6."

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

The first two of the following Tables show the total number
of animals in the Menagerie, with the number of new species
introduced for each year of the decade ; the character of the
last table is indicated by its title :

Year.

Mammals.

Birds.

Reptiles.

Total.

Mammals.

Birds.

Total.

1831
1832

[■ No returns.

—

27
25

70
51

1833

Total

not anal

ysed.

1,002

1834

296

717

1,034

1835

269

704

995

1836

307

704

1,025

1837

268

645

931

1838

303

592

933

1839

303

587

910

1840

352

524

894

Fellowship Roll, Visitors, and Finance.

Tear.

No. of
Fellows.

Admissions to
Gardens.

Income.

Expenditure.

1831

2,048

258,936

17,663

15,913

1832

2,309

218,585

15,493

13,006

1833*

2,470

211,343

14,843

13,154

1834

2,781

208,583

16,833

12,980

1835

2,941

210,068

16,033

13,330

1836

3,057

263,392

19,123

19,637

1837

3,106

173,778

13,960

14,350

1838

3,081

179,197

14,094

12,588

1839

3,038

158,432

13,431

13,637

1840

2,994

141,009

12,732

11,838

The subscription was raised to £3 for Fellows elected after December 6, 1832.

CHAPTER IV.

1841—1850.

Early in January, 1847, Mr. Ogilby tendered his resignation
to the Council, which was accepted with reluctance. In their
Annual Report they expressed their appreciation of "his dis-
interested and energetic exertions on behalf of the Society
throughout the long period of his official career," and their deep
regret at the loss of his valuable services. At the same time the
fact was recognised that they could not expect from their Secre-
tary that degree of responsibility to the Society and constant
attention to its affairs, which were then of vital importance, so
long as the appointment was an honorary one. The matter was
discussed at two Council meetings, and the following resolution
was passed :

That it is expedient to supply the present vacancy in the Secretaryship
by the appointment of a paid officer ; and, assuming that the whole time
of the future Secretary shall be at the disposal of the Council, they con-
sider that his salary cannot with propriety be fixed at less than £250
per annum.

In pursuance of this determination, Mr. David William
Mitchell, F.L.S., was provisionally elected with unanimity, and
the choice of the Council was ratified at the Annual Meeting.

Some minor changes also took place. In 1845 Mr. Rees, the
Assistant Secretary, was succeeded by Mr. Charles S. Bompas,
who performed the duties for two years, when the post was
abolished. The only change of importance at the Gardens
was that Professor Youatt ceased to have medical charge of the
animals. Hunt became head-keeper, replacing Devereux Fuller,
who entered the service of the Society in 1827.

Some anxiety was felt, at the commencement of this decade,
with regard to the action of the Crown Office in dedicating to
public use that part of the Park lying to the south and south-
west of the South Garden. Strange rumours were current, and

PLATE V.

THE PARROT AND ELEPHANT HOUSES.

{See pp. io6, 130.)

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 81

the following paragraph appeared in the Times of January
28, 1841 :

It is stated tliat it is the intention of the members of the Zoological
Gardens {sic) in the Regent's Park to remove their extensive and valuable
collections of animals at the latter end of March next (the lease being
expired), as the Commissioners of Woods and Forests intend raising the
rent for the grant of another lease, which the members of the Society
will not agree to. It is not known for the present to what locality they
will be removed.

There was a long correspondence on the subject between
the Council and the Commissioners of Woods and Forests, and
Lord Melbourne's resignation occasioned a further delay.

Eventually it was arranged (1) that the Society should sur-
render the slip of ground on the north bank of the canal which
they held from the Crown — that is, the present North Garden ;
(2) that they should exchange a piece of ground at the eastern
end of what is now the Middle Garden, required by the Com-
missioners for their proposed extension of the Broad Walk to the
canal, for an equal portion of new ground at the other end of
that garden ; and (3) that the ten acres of pasture ground adjoin-
ing the South Garden, hitherto held from year to year, should
be conceded to the Society for general purposes. In addition,
permission was granted for the erection of buildings and for
landscape gardening in these ten acres, and the Commissioners
agreed to fence that side exposed by the opening of the Park.
Refreshment Rooms were erected in 1841, and the present
much larger buildings occupy the site.

In 1843 the New Carnivora Terrace was constructed. This
formed part of the plan of Decimus Burton, but was not then
adopted by the Council from a fear lest the animals should
suffer from exposure. In the Quarterly Review of June, 1836
(p. 318), Broderip wrote :

There was one plan which, if it had not been considered impracticable
on account of the health of the animals, would have had a grand effect.
It was proposed by the architect to continue the terrace entirely along
the southern line, and to build beneath it the carnivora dens: it would
have been the finest terrace in Europe.

The walk was extended for about 150 feet from the bear pit
over the roof of the dens, of which there were originally six on
each side. Each cage was 24 ft. long, capable of division into

82 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

two or four compartments, with an inner sleeping den two yards
square for every 12-ft. cage, properly ventilated, but at the
same time carefully contrived to exclude cold and retain the
natural heat. The only protection at first was an awning to
shield the animals from the direct rays of the sun or from storms
or rain in winter. In September the animals were removed to
their new quarters ; and, according to the Council's Report pre-
sented at the Anniversary Meeting in 1844, the effect of more
air and greater exercise became visible almost immediately.

The African leopards, which were emaciated and sickly before their
removal became plump and sleek in a fortnight after ; in most instances
the females began to exhibit symptoms of breeding, and the appetites
of all were materially increased. This phenomenon, which was not alto-
gether unforeseen, produced the only two casualties among the larger
feline carnivora which could be fairly attributed to the new building,
and to the bold experiment which it was intended to carry out. Shortly
after the removal of the animals a tigress and female puma respectively
killed, and in the latter case partly devoured, their companions ; this led
to an immediate increase in their allowance of food, since which no
further accidents have occurred, nor has there been a single instance of
sickness of any kind.

A lion died in the new terrace dens shortly before the
meeting; but the Council believed the fatal disease had been
contracted in the old close den, and that he " fell a sacrifice, like
most of his predecessors, to the mistaken practice of confining
these animals in heated rooms and small apartments."

From the Guide published in 1844 it appears that the cost of
the terrace extension and the new dens was £3,000. The tenants
of the new quarters were: a young lion from the Cape;
lionesses, one of which was deposited by the Queen ; two tigers ;
pumas, which had bred ; African and Asiatic leopards ; a spotted
hyena ; striped hyenas (male and female) ; a Cape hunting dog^
a Malayan sun-bear, a Polar bear, and a Syrian bear.

In 1844 the Polar bears' den and bath were constructed. At
that time it was not considered necessary to carry the bars over
the top ; they were bent inwards, at what was deemed a suffi-
cient height above the coping, and so they remained for some
years, when there was convincing evidence that they did not
fulfil the purpose for which they were intended.

The improved health of the animals in the terrace dens was.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 83.

a proof that artificial heating was not so necessary as had form-
erly been thought. The result was that the use of the hot- water
apparatus in the giraffe house and monkey house was discon-
tinued. In both the only means of heating was a common open
fire ; and under this system " phthisis and catarrh, the former
fatal pestilences of the monkey house almost entirely disappeared."

In 1848 a shed was built, with a paddock attached, just west
of the giraffe house, for the European bison. The area was well
drained, and an artificial raised surface constructed of brick-
rubbish and gravel which gave no lodgment to water in unfavour-
able weather. The wants of the gardener were considered, and for
his benefit a small stove house for propagating plants was erected.

In the South Garden the pheasantries that now stand just
east of the cattle sheds were put up ; the absence of any proper
place for the conservation of tropical species of gallinaceous birds
rendered this building not only desirable but indispensable.
Near this an enclosure was made for wading birds. A new
entrance gate from a design by the architect of the Crown Office
was opened into the Broad Walk, on the site of the South
Entrance. This was much appreciated by the Fellows and the
public ; over 50,000 people entered the Gardens by that gate in
the first nine months. At the other end of this garden the Great
— or, as it is now called, the Western — Aviary was commenced.

The abandoned carnivora house in the North Garden was
converted into a room for reptiles in 1849, and this was the first
instance of a special building being devoted to animals of the
order ; the west wing of the giraffe house was built, and the
east wing begun, though it was not finished till the follow-
ing year. This last work was undertaken in anticipation of
the arrival of the hippopotamus.

In 1841 the donations to the Menagerie were very numerous,
and the name of the President occupies a conspicuous position
in the list of contributors. Mr. J. Brooke, afterwards Rajah
of Sarawak, sent home five orangs, one of which was an adult
female.^ In a letter to Mr. Waterhouse, read at the meeting of

* In the summer of 1904 six nearly adult orangs were shipped to France. Of
these two died early in the voyage, two just before reaching Marseilles, one soon
after its arrival at the Jardin d'Acclimatation in Paris, where the survivors were
deposited, and the last two days afterwards. Dr. P. Chalmers Mitchell went to

84 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

July 13, Mr. Brooke naturally expressed the hope that the
animals would reach England. He was, however, quite aware of
the dangers of the passage: for if they died the captain had
directions to put the bodies into spirits " so that the members
might have an opportunity of seeing them."

Unfortunately, not one of these anthropoids reached England
alive. Mr. Brooke's donations must have greatly enriched the
Museum collection, for in the following year he sent home
fourteen skeletons and forty-five skulls. The Council gratefully
acknowledged their indebtedness to " the zeal and good wishes
of their valued correspondent."

A male giraffe was born in May, 1841. In consequence of the
former failure to rear the fawn, "judicious arrangements were
adopted." The omission of details is irritating ; but it is satis-
factory to know that the dam immediately noticed her offspring,
permitted it to take its natural nourishment, and reared it
successfully. There was a justifiable note of jubilation in the
Report presented on April 29, 1842: "The Society has thus
happily succeeded in rearing the first giraffe which probably
ever reached the adult state out of Africa, or in a state of
domestication." Without being hypercritical, it may be sug-
gested that the expression " adult state " is scarcely applicable to
a giraffe not yet a twelvemonth old. This animal was presented
to the Dublin Gardens in 1844.

The ursine colobus received in 1842 deserves mention. This
fine West African monkey was described by Ogilby from skins
at the scientific meeting on July 14, 1835, and the species is
figured in Eraser's " Zoologica Typica," which was planned for
the description and illustration of the new forms exhibited in
the Gardens, but unfortunately it came to an end with the first
volume. It seems to have sus^orested to D. W. Mitchell and
Joseph Wolf the idea of the "Zoological Sketches,""^ for which
Dr. Sclater wrote the letterpress after Mitchell's resignation.

Paris on behalf of the Society, and saw the two orangs, but their condition pre-
cluded any idea of purchase. They were the largest animals of this species he had
ever seen. This is probably the only shipment of orangs larger than that made
by Mr. Brooke.

* Through the care of Mr. Mitchell no rare specimen has died within the last five
years without previously sitting for its portrait. — Quarterly Review, Dec. 1855, p. 245.

^,^^^v_^;r-v^^'^'^

Obaysch in his Pond. (See p. 91.)
From the "Illustrated London News," June 14, 1851.

Obaysch and Arab Keeper. {See p. 9i.)
From the "Illustrated London Netvs," June 1, 1850.

Plate 16.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 85

Among the birds exhibited for the first time was a roseate
spoonbill, a fact overlooked when three others were purchased
in August, 1870, for they are described as " the first received
alive by the Society."

Jenny the orang— Lady Jane she is called in the " List " of
1844 — was a famous animal, but there were two orangs living
in the Menagerie within a short period of each other and known
by these names. The animal purchased on November 25,
1837, Hved till May 7, 1839, and was probably the Jenny of
Broderip's article in the New Monthly Magazine of January,
1838 ; and must certainly be the orang referred to in Mrs. Owen's
Diary, under date of March 11, 1838, as having been brought
out for inspection by the Duchess of Cambridge, as there
was such a crowd round the cage. There is, however, some
confusion as to sex. Another, purchased in May, 1838, only
lived till the following October. The Jenny to which the name
properly belongs was bought on December 13, 1839, and proved
a great attraction during its captivity, which was ended by
death on October 10, 1843. This orang was a special favourite
with Owen and his wife, who were constant visitors at the
Gardens. In her Diary, ^ in the summer of 1842, Mrs. Owen
wrote :

We saw Jenny Lave her cup of tea again. It was spooned and
sipped in the most ladylike way, and Hunt, the keeper, put a very
smart cap on her head, which made it all the more laughable. Hunt
told me that a few days ago the Queen and Prince Albert were highly
amused with Jenny's tricks, but that he did not like to put the cap
on the orang, as he was afraid it might be thought vulgar !

They paid the animal a Christmas visit in 1842, and recorded
its affection for Hunt. An entry of February 8, 1844, shows
that this was reciprocated. Hunt, then looking after some
of the carnivora, told Mrs. Owen that "he would far sooner
have his poor Jenny." The diarist added a note : " He was so
much cut up about her death that he could hardly pronounce
her name."

The Council's Report for 1843, in recording her death,
remarked that she was " an old favourite with most visitors to
the Gardens, where she was an inmate for [nearly] four years,

* *' Life ol Eichard Owen," i. 193, 194.

86 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

and lived longer than any animal of the same species Avas ever
known to do in this country."

In 1845 the white-headed eagles nested. The female began
to sit on her eggs on April 8, and the pair were seen by hundreds
steadily persevering, notwithstanding the gaze of the visitors,
from day to day, in a close incubation till June 6, when the
worthless eggs were removed. The male was very attentive to
the female, and both took their regular turns in sitting. " Their
entire want of success seems, however, to have disgusted them
with the whole proceeding, for we cannot learn that the female
has produced an ep;g since." "^

At the Annual Meeting in that year the Council announced
that they had just added to the collection an echidna, or porcu-
pine ant-eater, " the first specimen of that animal which has been
exhibited alive in Europe, and one of very great interest to natu-
ralists." According to Owen, who watched the creature closely,
it was then " active and apparently in sound health " ; but it
only lived a few weeks.

From his paper presented to the scientific meeting of July 22
we learn that the animal was placed in a large shallow box having
a deep layer of sand on one half the bottom, and the top covered
with crossbars. It manifested more vivacity than could have
been expected from a quadruped which, in the proportions of its
limbs to the body, as well as in its internal organisation, makes
the nearest approach, after the ornithorhynchus, to the Reptilia-
It commenced an active exploration of its prison soon after it
was encaged ; the first instinctive action was to seek its ordinary
shelter in the earth, and it turned up the sand rapidly by
throwing it aside with strong strokes of its powerful fossorial
paws, repeating the act in many places, until it had assured itself
that the same hard, impenetrable bottom everywhere opposed its
progress downwards. Then it explored every fissure and cranny,
and poked its long slender nose through the interspaces of the
crossbars above. To reach these it had to raise itself almost
upright, and often overbalanced itself, falling on its back, and
recovering its legs by performing a somersault.

When seized by the hind leg and lifted off the ground the
echidna offered but little resistance, and " made not the slightest

♦Broderip, "Note-book of a Naturalist," p. 93.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 87

demonstration of defending itself by striking with its hind
spurs." Its only action, when irritated, was to roll itself into
a ball, like a hedgehog, the bristles then being erect.

It was fed on bread and milk, into which some mealworms
had been put. " The tongue came more than once in contact
with the larvae, which were sometimes rolled over by it, but no
attempt was made to swallow them." The present method of
feeding on finely minced meat mixed with the bread and
milk would probably have given the animal a better chance of hfe.

The European bison was introduced in 1847. Through the
influence of Sir R. I. Murchison, who had recently taken part in
the Geological Survey of Russia, the Czar Nicholas I. presented
a pair of young animals. These were obtained by driving in
the forest of Grodno, and fifty foresters with three hundred
beaters, were employed. A keeper was sent from London to
Memel to receive them, and they arrived in fairly good con-
dition. M. Dolmatoif, the Master of the Imperial forest of
Grodno, contributed some interesting notes on the species to
the Proceedings for 1848. From his own experience he
dissipated the erroneous view that these calves would not
take nourishment from a domestic cow; and this was con-
firmed by their taking readily to foster-mothers at Regent's
Park. He suggested that it would not be difficult to obtain
a cross with ordinary cattle, but there was no opportunity
for that experiment ; and recommended that the animals should
be kept in a paddock that would afford them a wide range. To
M. Dolmatoff and Sir R. I. Murchison the Council awarded the
Silver Medal, to commemorate the introduction of the species ;
and this was the first occasion on which it was presented.

In the same year the condor nested. In his " Note-book of
a Naturalist" (p. 13), Broderip made this fact the text for
a pleasant little disquisition on the treatment of the animals
in the Menagerie:

It affords pregnant evidence of the care and attention exerted by
the authorities and keepers of the animals confined in the garden of the
Zoological Society of London in the Regent's Park, when we find that so
many of them have not only shown a disposition to breed in their captivity,
but that not a few have actually reared healthy offspring under all the dis-
advantages which a life so different from that intended by Nature must
under any circumstance produce.

88 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

Between March 4, 1844, and May 7, 1847, the female condor
laid seven eggs. The last was put under a Dorking foster-
mother, which sat for fifty-four days, and on June 30 the chick
began to chip the wall of its procreant prison ; but it was not
released till the following morning, when the keeper had to
break the shell, for the membrane had dried round the nestling.
"Thus," said Broderip, with due remembrance of "Candide,"
" came into this best of all possible worlds the first condor
hatched in England."

The chick, after thriving well, to all appearance, died on
July 21 ; and the foster-mother, which had been most attentive
to it to the last, missed it a good deal.

Jack, the fine Indian elephant purchased in 1831, died early
in June. He suffered from extensive disease of the knee-joint
and from an abscess in the throat. Broderip, who visited the
Gardens on Whit Sunday, with Owen and Murchison, in attend-
ance on the Grand Duke Constantino, left the following notes :

The elephant was miserably fallen away, and stood, as he had long pre-
viously remained, supporting himself by laying his huge trunk along the
bar that fronted his apartment. He was evidently suffering much, and the
keeper warned me not to go near, his temper having become ferocious. I
knew him well, however, and ventured to approach ; and he threw up his
trunk and showed his molar teeth in his open mouth at my usual signal. I
had nothing to give him but bran, and that he took from my hand.

The animal was secluded for a short time ; and when the
end was near, sank back upon his haunches, with his forelegs
extended, and remained motionless for about two hours.
Then his trunk dropped and he expired, stiffening in the
upright position, not even his head sinking.

Owen wanted to secure the brain, and sent some students to
saw the skull and take it out. The task was beyond their powers^
and they gave it up. Owen undertook the business, and in the
course of the work was wounded in the hand by two spicula of
bone. These punctures excited some alarm in the minds of his
friends ; but the places were at once cauterised, and a day or
two after he was well enough to show the treasures of his
museum to the Grand Duke.

The tree-kangaroo of New Guinea, a form that, from the
nature of its habitat, has taken to an arboreal mode of life, figures

Serpent Charmers, isee p. 92.)
Frovi the "Illustrated London News," June 15, 1850.

First Reptile House. (See p. 83.)

Plate 17.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 89

in the List for the first time in 1848. From the same quarter of
the globe came the brush- turkeys and the maleo — mound- birds
that make no nest, but bury their eggs respectively in masses of
decaying vegetation or in pits in the sand, thus avoiding the duty
of incubation. It seems strange that no example of the latter
had been imported before; for Professor Newton shows'^ that
Pigafetta, one of the survivors of Magellan's voyage, recorded
in his Journal, under date of April, 1521, the existence of the
mound-bird of the Philippines.

To these must be added a pair of silky bower birds, from New
South Wales. The anomalous architecture of this species was
discovered by Gould, and described by him in the Proceedings
(1840, p. 94). In the following year the birds constructed
a bower in the aviary in which they had been placed, and
it was thus described in the Illustrated London News of
July 14, 1849 :

The bower is composed of twigs woven together in the most compact
manner, and ornamented with shells and feathers, the disposition of which
the birds are continually altering. . . . The extreme shyness of the
birds, who retire from the bower on the first approach of a spectator,
accounts for the origin and object of these structures remaining so long
unknown, even to the settlers. They have no connection with the 'nest,
and are simply playing-places, in which the birds divert themselves during
the months which immediately precede nidification.

The birds were extremely lively, and the writer expressed a
hope that they would " eventually make a nest, and thus elucidate
the only point in their interesting history which Mr. Gould was
unable to solve during his researches in Australia." The nest
and eggs were not found till about 1876, and the story may
be read in the first volume of A. J. Campbell's "Nests and
Eggs of Australian Birds."

A fine lion and the male European bison were lost by
inflammation of the lungs, attributed by Owen to the cold
fogs incident to the undrained soil. " The records of medi-
cine," he said,t " bear testimony to similar ill effects upon the
mucous tract of the respiratory organs of the human inhabitants
of the Regent's Park whose habits and strength of constitution

* ** Dictionary of Birds," s.v, Megapode.
t Proceedings, 1848, p. 126.

90 TEE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

do not enable them to control and overcome this pregnant, but
happily remediable source of ill-health."

Ibrahim Pasha sent a magnificent donation in 1849, consist-
ing of two giraftes, two dromedaries, two leucoryx and two addax
antelopes, two ostriches and two gazelles, which were brought
home by Henry Hunt, who went out to Cairo to take charge
of them. The Pasha intended to send all the animals in pairs,
but the bull giraffe unfortunately died. The Queen deposited
a lioness, a leopard, a pair of ostriches, and a pair of gazelles.
By the influence of the Hon. C. A. Murray, Consul-General at
Cairo, Abbas Pasha obtained for acceptance by the Society a
young hippopotamus from the White Nile. The animal was
brought to Cairo in November and placed at the disposal of
Mr. Murray, who described the valuable present:

The Hippopotamus is quite well, aud the delight of everyone who sees
him. He is as tame and playful as a Newfoundland puppy ; knows his
keepers, and follows them all over the courtyard ; in short, if he continues
gentle and intelligent as he promises to be, he will be the most attractive
object ever seen in our Garden, and may be taught all the tricks usually
performed by the elephant.

It was said that the feeding of the young hippopotamus
caused a shortage of milk in the city. Mr. Murray thought
a fresh importation of cows into Cairo would be necessary —
" our little monster takes about thirty quarts of milk daily
for his share already."

As a small return for this munificent gift the Council sent to
His Highness a stud of greyhounds and deerhounds under the
care of an experienced trainer. The animals were greatly ad-
mired by the Pasha, who expressed his satisfaction with the
course adopted by the Council.

Losses were heavy this year. Three American bison and the
female of the European species succumbed to pleuro-pneumonia.
The death of the Indian rhinoceros is thus accounted for by
Broderip ^ in describing another rhinoceros in the Gardens :

His predecessor, who departed this life full of years, was constantly
forced upon his belly by a pugnacious elephant [Jack], who pressed his
tusks upon the back of his neighbour when he came near the palings which
separated their enclosures. This rough treatment appears to have led to

♦ Quarterly Eevieiv, March, 1856, p. 240.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 91

his death, as Professor Owen found, on dissecting the massive brute, which
weighed upwards of two tons, that the seventh rib had been fractured at
the bend near the vertebral end, and had wounded the left lung.

Owen ascribed the broken rib to " some clumsy fall, or other-
wise inexplicable process"; and the Council, in chronicling the
death, say that as the animal had been upwards of fifteen years
in the Menagerie its " longevity rather than its decease " was
matter for remark.

The great event of 1850 was the arrival of the hippopotamus,
the first living specimen seen in Europe " since these creatures
were last exhibited by the third Gordian in the Amphitheatre of
Imperial Rome." This young male was but a few days old when
it was captured by a party of hunters sent out by the Viceroy.
They met with it on the island of Obaysch, in the White Nile,
and from that spot the animal was named. It was sent down to
Cairo in a boat constructed for the purpose, and kept in that
city through the winter, and was brought home in the spring on
board the Peninsular and Oriental Company's steamer Bipon,
where a bath was fitted up for it, and other arrangements made
for its comfort, justifying Frank Buckland's remark that it
travelled en prince. It was landed at Southampton on May 25,
and brought by special train to London, " every station yielding
up its wondering crowd to look upon the monster as he passed —
fruitlessly, for they only saw the Arab keeper, who then attended
him night and day, and who, for want of air, was constrained to
put his head out through the roof." The same night it was
safely housed in the Gardens.

Owen saw it on the following morning (Sunday), and recorded
his impressions in the Annals and Magazine of Natural
History (v. 2nd ser., pp. 515-18). He estimated the animal to
be ten months old, and says that it was 7 ft. long and 6| ft. in
girth at the middle of the barrel-shaped trunk, which was sup-
ported, clear of the ground, on very short thick legs. In walking
the head was depressed, and then the hippopotamus gave him
the impression of a huge prize hog, while in the water it swam
and plunged about " with a cetaceous or porpoise-like rolling
from side to side, taking in mouthfuls of water, and spurting
them out again, raising every now and then its huge grotesque
head, and biting the woodwork at the margin of the bath." It

92 THE ZOOLOGIGAL SOCIETY.

would come at the keeper's call, and follow close at his heels,
like a dog; and at the absence of its favourite attendant —
Hamet Saafi Cannana, for his name deserves to be recorded — it
became very impatient, rising on its hind legs and pushing at
the wooden fence with a force that threatened to break it down.
The hippopotamus was a wonderful attraction, and an
exceedingly good advertisement for the Gardens. This was
recognised by the Council, who said in their Report :

Independently of the peculiar claims on public attention vvliicli exist in
this extraordinary animal, the renown which the possession of him secures
to the Society. has been the means of placing the value, usefulness, and
beauty of the general collection rightly before the public.

The Press devoted as much space to Obaysch as it did, later,
to Jumbo, on his departure. At least half-a-dozen times before
the end of the year the hippopotamus formed a subject for
Punch artists ; and one illustration depicted the rush of people
to the Gardens. In Household Words for September 28 there
appeared an amusing skit, which, on Mrs. Owen's authority,^
may be attributed to " Orion " Home. It represents the older
inhabitants resenting the popularity of the newcomer — which
the fox disrespectfully calls a "water-pig" — and appealing to
the authorities for redress. A meeting was convened, at the
Gardens, and the animals made their protests. These all agreed
with that of the lion, who expressed his opinion that the ridicu-
lous adulation of public levees by the hippopotamus should
cease, and a general apology by the Council and the visitors at
large be made to all the other animals.

With Hamet came two other attendants, who were also snake
charmers, and the elder, then an old man, had collected reptiles
for Geoffrey, in Bonaparte's Egyptian expedition. Broderip,
who witnessed their feats on the day that he first saw the
hippopotamus (May 26), gives the following account of it in
his "Note-book of a Naturalist" (p. 201 sqq.):

The charmers took up a position at the end of the house, opposite to
the lodgings of the great Pythons, of whose size the old Arab had heard
with something very like incredulity. The company stood in a semicircle,
and at a respectful distance. There was not much difficulty in getting a

•"Life of Richard Owen," i. 361. The title, however, is wrongly quoted.
It was "Zoological Session," not " Zoological Meeting."

Mesopotamian Lions. (-See p. 115.)
From the " Illustrated London News," April 12, 1856.

Plate 18.

FISH House. {See p. 107.)

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 93

front place, but those behind pressed the bolder spectators rather incon-
veniently forward.

Standing in the open space the old Arab said something to the young
one, who stooped down under the reptile cases at the north side of the
room, and took out a large deal box with a sliding cover, which looked like
a box for stowing away a set of Brobdignag chessmen, drew off the cover,
thrust in his hand, and pulled out a large long naia haje.* After handling
it and playing with it a little while, he set it down on the floor, half
squatted close to it, and fixed his eye on the snake. The serpent instantly
raised itself, expanded its hood, and turned slowly on its own axis, follow-
ing the eye of the young Arab, turning as his head, or eye, or body turned.
Sometimes it would dart at him as if to bite. He exercised the most
perfect command over the animal.

Then the old Arab took part in the performance, fixing his eyes
upon the snake, with his face on a level with the raised head of
the serpent, which seemed to be in a paroxysm of rage.

Suddenly it darted open-mouthed at his face, furiously dashing its
expanded whitish-edged jaws into the dark hollow cheek of the charmer,
who still imperturbably kept his position, only smiling bitterly at his
excited antagonist.

Broderip, who was in front, watched very narrowly, but though
the snake dashed at the old Arab's face, and into it more than
twice or thrice with its mouth wide open, he could not see the
projection of any fang.

A cerastes, or horned viper, was next brought out, but proved
to be sluggish. More snakes, including a second naia, were then
taken out of the box. One of them bit the boy on the hand,
and brought the blood, but he only spat on the wound, and
enlarged it with his nail, which made the blood flow more
freely. Broderip concludes thus:

The Arabs, holding the snakes by the tails, let their bodies touch the
floor, when they came twisting and wriggling on towards the spectators,
who now backed a little upon the toes of those who pressed them from
behind. Sometimes the charmers would loose their hold, when the serpents,
as if eager to escape from their tormentors, rapidly advanced upon the
retreating ring ; but they always caught them by the tails in time, and
then made them repeat the same advances. I kept my position in front
throughout, and had no fear, feeling certain that Mr. Mitchell, and those
under whose superintendence this highly amusing and instructive establish-
ment is so well conducted, would not have permitted the exhibition to take
place if there had been the least danger. Besides this I observed that the

* The Egyptian cobra, which has no spectacle-mark on the back of the neck.

94 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY,

charmers only used their own serpents, which they had, I presume, brought
with them ; and I confess that the impression upon my mitid was that they
had been rendered innoxious by mechanical means.*

The Queen presented a gigantic land-tortoise, which was said,
no doubt with truth, to be nearly two hundred years old, but it
did not survive the winter. While the reptile was at Buckingham
Palace Owen was summoned thither to see it. In the presence
of the Prince Consort he proceeded to take its measure-
ments, and to obtain the girth conveniently he bestrode the
animal, which walked off with the Professor on his back. As he
rode along he continued his measurements, to the great amuse-
ment of the Prince, and the circumference came out at 12 ft.
In his tortoise ride in the garden of Buckingham Palace
Owen was more successful than Darwin in the Galapagos, for
the latter " found it very difficult to keep his balance."

A pair of thylacines were presented by Mr. Ronald Gunn and
Dr. Grant of Van Diemen's Land, as Tasmania was then called.
The extreme rarity of this species and the difficulties of transport
had prevented any previous attempt to obtain examples of this
carnivorous marsupial — the zebra-wolf of the colonists, who set
a price on its head, because of its ravages among their sheep.
The Cape hyrax was another introduction of this year.

In the spring the wedge- tailed eagle laid four eggs. Two
Avere successively put under a common hen, but both proved
addled after an incubation of about three weeks. The old birds
destroyed a third egg, and though the fourth was taken out by
the keepers, there was no attempt to get it hatched.

Although not a rare species, the black stork in the aviaries
must not be omitted. It was famous in its day for its dexterity
in catching young sparrows. This " black philosopher," as
Broderip called it, stood for its portrait to most of the ornitho-
logical writers of that period. Its likeness illustrates the works
of Bennett, Gould, Meyer, Selby and Yarrell, and of course
finds a place in the indispensable " Manual."

* In a later chapter (p. 388) the author says that *' there is no longer a shadow
of doubt " that these snakes had been deprived of their fangs. In Bartlett's ** Life
Among Wild Beasts in the Zoo " (p. 268) is an account of his removing the fangs of
cobras for some Indian snake-charmers. From the entrepreneur he received a few
cobras which would not feed, and soon died. On examination it was found that
their mouths had been neatly sewn up.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 95

In 1842 the attendance of a Fellow to introduce friends to
the Gardens was dispensed with. Owen raised the question, and
a committee was appointed to consider the subject. On their
recommendation a book, indexed alphabetically, was kept at the
office, and in it any Fellow might inscribe his name and those
of the persons he wished to introduce on the following Sunday.
The book was taken to the Gardens on the Saturday evening
for use by the gatekeepers. The plan had not the merit of
simplicity, and was soon dropped.

The band question was discussed the next year. The Council
had received suggestions that :

The addition of a military band to play in the Gardens on certain
Saturdays in the months of May, June, and July might be the means of
maintaining and even increasing the interest which the public have so
long manifested in the Gardens.

A committee reported in favour of the proposal, which was
not carried into effect till 1844, when the Promenades were
made more attractive. A " Promenade " was a day reserved
for Fellows and their friends, and from this time onward a band
was engaged. The price of admission was 3s. 6d., and to obtain
a ticket it was necessary to have an order from a Fellow, who
could himself purchase tickets for his friends at 2s. 6d. These
Promenades were important ; they increased the revenue and led
eventually to the provision of a military band. In many of the
Continental Gardens an excellent band form part of the staff, as
it does at the Gardens at Manchester. The Promenades con-
tinued, during the season, for five years, and then were dropped.

Poultry shows were begun in 1845. Prizes were offered for
" domestic fowls, bantams, turkeys, pigeons, ducks and geese
bred in the previous year ; and for pheasants and any species
of gallinaceous bird not hitherto bred in this country." -^ The

* The classes were divided into sections. As no schedule of the first show is
known, the following are taken from the first prize-list, signed hy John Baily,
George Fisher, and William Yarrell. Class I. Domestic Fowls : Speckled
Dorking, Surrey, Kent, Gold-spangled Hamburgh, Silver spangled Hamburgh
(called Bolton Grey), Black Spanish, Polish, Malay, China, Madeira, Spangled
muffled fowls. Class IT. Bantams: Gold- spangled. Silver-spangled, Black, Gold-
hackled, Feather-legged. Class III. Ducks : Aylesbury, cross with Rouen, large
variety called Essex. Class IV. Geese : Common, Grey lag. Half-bred (wild and
domestic), Bernacle. Class V. Pigeons : Roman and Spanish runts. Class VI
Pheasants : No entries. Class VII. Turkeys : Spangled male.

96 TEE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

weather was unusually stormy and unsettled, and " seriously
affected the success of the experiment." But on the whole the
Council were satisfied, and for some few years the poultry shows
were carried on. In addition to money prizes, medals were
awarded for the best birds, but Fellows of the Society, if prize-
winners, received only an honorary certificate. At the first
show, A. D. Bartlett, afterwards Superintendent of the Gardens,
obtained a first prize and bronze medal for a turkey, and three
second prizes — one for Surrey fowls and two for geese. Accord-
ing to Yarrell (iv. 254), one of the geese was a wild grey lag,
sent from India by Blyth to Bartlett, who exhibited the bird.
Some additional privileges were granted to Fellows, in 1847,
by the issue of six tickets for the admission of two friends to the
Gardens, except on Promenade days. The public were admitted
on Mondays and Tuesdays, without an order, on payment of a
shilling, and at Easter and Whitsuntide this privilege was
extended for three days more. Soon after Whitsuntide visitors
were admitted on any week-day on payment of a shilling, except
when the Gardens were reserved for Fellows and their friends —
that is, on Promenade days. It is difficult to fix the date at
which this change took place ; but that it must have been in
May of this year is shown by the following extract from the
circular announcing the poultry show: —

ADMISSION TO THE GARDENS AND
MUSEUM, REGENT'S PARK.

Open from 9 o^ Clock in the Morning to Sunset.

Visitors are admitted upon payment of Is. by each
person, except on Sundays, when Fellows with two Com-
panions, Persons holding Named Ticket with one Com-
panion, and Honorary, Foreign, and Corresponding
Members only can be admitted ; or on the days set
apart for the Fellows and their friends, viz., Saturdays,
May 29 ; June 12 and 26 ; July 10 ; for which days, in
addition to their usual privileges, Fellows may, on or
before the 8th of May, obtain by personal application or
written orders any number of Tickets, not exceeding
Twenty at 2s. 6d. each, at the office, 11, Hanover Square ;
and any number at 3s. 6d. each at any time, either at the
oflfice, or at the Gardens.

Plate 9.

CLOUDED LEOPARDS. {See p. 115.)
From a Drawing by Joseph Wolf.

THE ZOOLOQIGAL SOCIETY. 97

In April, 1848, the Council resolved to admit the public on
Mondays, and children at any time, for sixpence each. This
policy was justified by results. The Athencewm of May 20
said:

We hear that the experiment of reducing the admission to the Zoologi-
cal Gardens on Mondays from Is. to 6d. has thus far been attended with
perfect success. The numbers of visitors on that day already have been
more than double the former average. Children, now charged only six-
pence at all times, throng the Gardens. With such results, the Society
will probably see it judicious to carry the experiment further.

From 1841 there had been a gradual decrease of income till
(as will be seen from the tables at the end of the chapter) the
lowest point was reached in 1847. With the change of policy
matters began to improve. The attention of the Council had
been aroused by the circulation of a printed "Letter to the
President," of which no copy exists in the Society's Library or
that of the British Museum. Its purport, however, may be
gathered from the following extract from the Literary Gazette
of September 21, 1850:

It went to expose the vicious system of forming Councils of men of
wealth and station, unaccustomed to habits of business, possessed of every
desirable qualification, except an acquaintance with the matter in hand,
and contented to place themselves in the hands of an honorary secretary,
while incurring the mismanagement that insensibly arises out of a compact,
in which one party takes all the power, the other all the homage.

This occurred in a review of some of the Society's publications.
The reviewer approved of the matter contained in the " Letter,"
but condemned the style. The purpose, however, was attained ;
the policy of exclusiveness came to an end, and the Council
sought to attract visitors by making known the means of access
to the Gardens, "feeling that in affording facilities to all the
intelligent classes, they were taking the most effectual course for
diffusing that true and comprehensive taste for Natural History
which was the principal object of the Founders of the Society."
As a natural consequence the number of visitors increased ; and
in 1849 the Council were authorised to express the approval
of the Queen of the efforts which they had made "for the
restoration of this Institution, and for the diffusion of in-
tellectual recreation, by its resources, among the great masses
of the people."

98 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

The accumulation of valuable objects in the Museum, far
exceeding the space available for their preservation, to say-
nothing of display, caused the Council a good deal of anxiety.
In 1841 the lease of the house in Leicester Square was given
up, the collections were stored in a warehouse in Dufour's Place»
Broad Street, Golden Square, and the offices were transferred to
57, Pall MalL The collections were valued by J. 0. Westwood
and John Gould, the former taking the insects, and the latter all
the rest. In round numbers the valuation came out at £11,000,
of which the insects counted for £1,000. Gould appended a
short report, to the effect that the prices affixed were those of
the various objects or groups from a scientific point of view;
adding :

Their value is of course greatly enhanced by the many nearly complete
series of interesting and rare animals, and from their being in numerous-
instances the originals of the species characterised in the Society's Trans-
actions and Proceedings, besides comprising the entire collections of the
founders of the Society, Sir Thomas Stamford Raflfles and Mr. Vigors,
to which have been added the invaluable collections formed by Mr. Darwin
and others.

This report, together with a statement of the history of the
Museum, was presented to a Special General Meeting at Willis's
Rooms on May 20, 1841, convened " to take the whole subject of
the Museum into consideration, for the purpose of determining
upon its ultimate destination." The attendance was very large,.
and the subject was fully discussed. Several resolutions were
passed by an overwhelming majority; the principal were:

That the Society cannot divest itself of its scientific character, sa
essential to its dignity and respectability, without violating the Charter
of Incorporation.

That the Museum is a necessary and intrinsic part of the Scientific
Establishment, which it is essential should be perpetuated, the origin of
which is contemporary with that of the Society itself, which was formed by
the munificence of our original founders,* enlarged by the donations of
numerous correspondents in all parts of the world, and heretofore invari-
ably recognised by every successive Council as an indispensable object of
the Institution.

A committee was appointed, which reported to a Special
Meeting on July 10, and the recommendations were published
in the Council's Report of April 29, 1842. Their purport may

* Sir Stamford Raffles and Mr. Vigors, See Gould's report, ante.

TBE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 99

be gathered from a paragraph in the Literary Gazette of
August 20:

The resolution to preserve the Museum, and with it the scientific, versus
the mere wild-beast-show part of the Society, has been fully confirmed, and
a design by Mr. Elmslie provisionally adopted for the building. Towards
erecting this in the Gardens £5,000 have been recommended out of the
permanent fund.

Difficulties were encountered with regard to a site ; the
design was abandoned, and it was resolved to convert the old
carnivora house, " enlarged by a new building of equal dimen-
sions on the south," into a Museum. By this means the Museum
and Carnivora Terrace were completed for less than the sum voted
for the Museum alone. In 1843 the work of transferring the
preserved specimens to the Gardens was begun, and completed
in the following year. It was found that the collections had
suffered little injury during their storage in Dufour's Place, and
they were provisionally arranged in the new building, which was
opened to visitors to the Gardens without further payment.

The change was not a success. Moreover, the financial con-
dition of the Society precluded any expenditure beyond what
was absolutely necessary for the conservation of the specimens.
At the Annual Meeting in 1848 the Council announced that
they felt the less regret on this account because the National
Collections now provided a great increase of materials for the
study of zoology, as far as it could be prosecuted from preserved
specimens. In the following year the distribution of duplicates
began on a large scale ; and hereafter the only additions to the
mounted specimens were rare species that had died in the
Menagerie and were not represented in the Museum. There
was a change of policy in 1850, and a special Committee of
the Council recommended that the specimens should be
offered to the Government for a fair equivalent.

An important move was made in 1843, when the ofiices were
transferred to No. 11, Hanover Square, which was taken on
lease. The Council Room was fitted up to receive " the more
valuable and ornamental portions of the Museum collections,"
and the Secretary's room served also as a library, but the books
did not number a thousand till 1848. With this removal to
more commodious quarters there came a revival of interest in

100 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

the scientific meetings, and on some evenings the rooms could
scarcely contain the audience. This seems to have been specially
the case when Owen's papers on the extinct birds of the genus
Dinomis were read, and at Falconer's demonstration on the
fossil tortoise, with a carapace 6 ft. long, from the Sivalik Hills.
A great number of huge fragments, derived from all parts of
the skeleton except the neck and tail, were exhibited on the
table, illustrating a diagram by Scharf of the animal restored
to the natural size.

A " List of Animals in the Gardens " was published in 1844.
In addition to the English names and descriptions, there is a
Scientific Index, which shows, on analysis, that the Menagerie
contained 335 species, thus distributed: Mammals, 134; birds,
197 ; reptiles, 3 ; and fish, 1. A note on the two-toed sloth,
said to have been the first imported, is worth insertion here :
"In fine weather this animal is allowed to range on the large
trees outside the building" — that is, the giraffe house.

In the Proceedings for 1843 a letter from the Eev. W. C.
Cotton is printed, in which a curious story about the dinornis is
told on the authority of the Rev. Mr. Williams, who sent some
bones to Dean Buckland :

Strangely enough, after Mr. Williams had obtained the bones he heard
of the bird as having been seen by two Englishmen in the Middle Island.
They were taken out by a native at night to watch for the bird which he
had described to them ; they saw it, but were so frightened that they did
not dare to shoot at it, though they had gone out expressly to do so.
After this I should not be surprised if the Zoological Society were to
send out an army to take the monster alive, for alive he most certainly
is in my opinion.

A letter from Gilbert on the mammals and birds of Australia
appeared in the following year ; and in 1846 came the news of
his tragic death. A curious note on the kakapo occurs in a
letter from Mr. F. Strange to Gould in 1847 : " This," the writer
says, " is one of the birds the natives set great store by, the head
being cut off, strung by the nostrils, and worn in the ears on
their grand feast days." The same year James Hunt's observa-
tions on the breeding of the otter in confinement appeared.

A new series, with coloured plates, was commenced in 1848 ;
Joseph Wolf furnished many of the illustrations, and this was
his first connection with the Society. A cheap edition, consisting

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 101

only of the text, was also issued. In the first volume there
were twenty-three plates, each illustrative of a new species.
Owen described the Notornis, then supposed to be extinct,
though living specimens have since been taken ; and Dalmatoff
published interesting notes on the European bison. Huxley's
first contribution — On the Anatomy of Trigonia — presented
by Professor E. Forbes on his behalf-^ was printed in the
following year, and, strange to say, the author is entered as
" G. Huxley." The Secretary described a hybrid chick between
the common and the Victoria crowned pigeon, hatched in the
Gardens ; and a hybrid bull belonging to the President, that had
been deposited for some time in the Gardens. There was no
history of the animal, beyond the fact that it had been imported
from India about 1845. It appeared to be the produce of a yak
sire and a zebu dam, and the influence of yak blood was visible
in the tail and the long hair on the limbs, though the pendent
hair was absent from the sides. Notable papers in the last
year of the decade were those by Mantell, on Notornis, and
Westwood on the tsetse fly, which he described and named.

Two volumes of Transactions were published: the second,
completed in 1841, contained twenty-six memoirs. Those of
Owen treated of the osteology of the orang, the anatomy of the
Nubian giraffe and the apteryx; the striped ant-eater and
the sable antelope were described respectively by Waterhouse
and Harris, and there Avere also contributions from Bell,
Westwood, and Yarrell. The third volume appeared in 1849 : it
contained eighteen memoirs, of which the most important were
those by Owen on Dinornis, the dodo, and the gorilla, or, as it
was then called, the great African chimpanzee ; and the papers
on the apteryx and the marsupials were continued. In this
volume is a figure of the femur from New Zealand, on which
Owen founded the genus Megalornis, for so at first he desig-
nated the great wingless bird, to which the thigh bone, resembling
that of an ostrich, belonged. This name, however, was pre-
occupied, and it was accordingly changed to Dinornis.

The returns of the number of animals in the Menagerie are
incomplete, those for 1846, 1847, and 1848 being the only ones

* Huxley did not become a Fellow till 1860, and of course till then could not
present a paper.

102

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

recorded. The respective totals are 905 (mammals, 341 ; birds,
657 ; reptiles, 7) ; 1,086 (mammals, 359 ; birds, 714 ; reptiles, 13);
and 1,335 (mammals, 383; birds, 851; reptiles, 101). Nor are
there any returns of the species exhibited for the first time
in 1841. For the remaining years of the decade, the figures
are given below :

Exhibited for the First Time.

Year.

Mammals.

Birds.

Reptiles.

Total.

Year.

Mammals.

Birds.

Reptiles.

Total.

1842

1847

1843

1848

1844

—

1849

1845

—

1850

1846

Fellowship Koll, Visitors, and Finance.

Year.

No. of
Fellows.

Admission to
Gardens.

Income.

Expenditure.

1841

2,819

132,616

11,611

10,931

1842

2,630

107,459

10,087

9,721

1843

2,410

98,280

9,137

12,858

1844

2,217

101,527

8,658

10,999

1845

2,067

104,908

8,831

9,290

1846

1,939

94,049

8,304

8,611

1847

1,844

88,582

7,765

9,710

1848

1,735

143,630

8,165

9,822

1849

1,665

168,895

8,771

9,580

1850

1,652

360,402^

14,957

13,186

• This was the " hippopotamus year,'
than doubled.

and the number of visitors was more

PLATE VI.

THE MONKEY HOUSE.

{See p. 129.)

103

CHAPTER V.

1851—1860.

In the opening year of this decade the Society sustained a
heavy loss by the death of the President, the Earl of Derby,
whose interest in the Garden establishment was shown by
his many donations and the frequent exchanges effected
between Regent's Park and Knowsley. He was one of the
original members, and acted on the Farm Committee ; and
his communications to the scientific meetings were always of
a practical nature, in this respect following the lines of work
which Sir Humphry Davy is credited with having laid down.
To him was due the introduction of the eland and some
other species into this country ; and he always hoped that these
fine antelopes might be turned to practical account as park
animals and for the table. His death took place on July 2,
and the Council were so fortunate as "to obtain the assent
of H.R.H. Prince Albert to their request that he would honour
the Society by accepting the vacant office." As the Prince
was not a Fellow he was admitted at a special meeting of
the Council on July 19, as a necessary qualification for the
Chair, which he repeatedly occupied, and his firm signature,
"Albert," was in due form appended to the minutes.

The change was announced to the Society at the Annual
Meeting in 1852 ; when the Council put on record the following
appreciadon of their late President:

The late Earl of Derby was intimately connected with the Society from
its first foundation, in which Sir Humphry Davy, Sir Stamford Raffles,
the late Earl of Auckland,* and other friends of science co-operated with
him. On the retirement of the Marquess of Lansdowne from the
President's chair, the Earl of Derby, at the solicitation of the Council,

♦ To this distinguished nobleman the Society was indebted for the most efficient
support from its earliest foundation, in which he bore an active share with Sir
Stamford Raffles, Sir Humphry Davy, and the late Earl of Derby. — D. W.
Mitchell's Guide (1852), p. 8.

104 THE ZOOLOOIGAL SOCIETY.

consented to accept the vacant office, and he continued to take an
active part in the management of the Institution until the state of his
health compelled him to reside at Knowsley during the greater part of
the year.

At the same meeting the Secretary's salary was raised to
£500 a year — "to include travelling and other incidental
expenses." He held office till the Anniversary in 1859, when
he retired in order to take up the appointment of Director
of the Jardin d'Acclimatation, then just founded at Paris. In
consideration of his services to the Society the Council pre-
sented him with a gratuity of £500, and put it on record
that " the present prosperous and satisfactory position of the
Society was chiefly, if not entirely, owing to the great ability
and zeal of Mr. Mitchell." For the seven years previous to
his appointment in 1847 the average number of visitors to
the Gardens had been 111,500, and the income £9,199 ; for
the seven years ending December 31, 1858, the respective
averages rose to 350,620 and £15,062. Mr. Philip Lutley
Sclater, who had served on the Council for two years, was
elected to the post thus rendered vacant. Mitchell died soon
after having entered on his new duties.

Yarrell died on September 1, 1856, and though there is
no official tribute to his memory in the Council's Report,
enough of his work has been here chronicled to show that
he played no unimportant part in the foundation and manage-
ment of the Society. One need only look at the Transactions
of the Linnean Society to see how much of his work at the
Zoological Club appeared therein, and some of it was after-
wards amplified for the scientific meetings of the Zoological
Society, of which he was an original member. He served on
the Council almost uninterruptedly from 1831 till his death,
and was Vice-President for two terms — 1839-44 and 1845-51.
He owed this appointment to Lord Derby, with whom he had
been closely associated in the management of the Farm.

At the Gardens Mr. Alexander Miller, who had been
Superintendent since 1829, was pensioned in 1852 ; he was
succeeded by Mr. John Thompson, at whose death in 1859
Mr. Abraham Dee Bartlett was appointed. In the same year
James Thomson succeeded Hunt as head-keeper.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 105

The drainage of the Gardens and adjacent portions of the
Park, begun by the Crown Office in 1851, was completed in
the following year, and " operated as one of the counteracting
causes to the extension of disease among the animals." The
Council were also of opinion that it had an appreciable
effect in raising the number of species that bred in the
Menagerie.

The first work of importance was the provision of an
enclosure and tank for the hippopotamus, and platforms were
added so that visitors might see the animal in the water.
Concurrently with this the west wing of the giraffe house
was erected, the eagles' aviary on the lawn — now done away
with — was completed, and platforms made on the south side
of the Carnivora Terrace. About the same time the house
on the south side of the Museum was built, and divided up
to serve for pythons and anthropoid apes. Here it was that
the famous Sally lived. As originally constructed, the house
for the exhibition of Gould's collection of humming birds
stood on the site of the present plovers' aviary, at the back
of the lion house. In describing its position the Illustrated
London News (May 31, 1851, p. 480) said that it was "on
the left of the walk which leads from the south entrance of
the Society's gardens towards their splendid collection of
Carnivora."

This collection was one of the great attractions during the
year of the Great Exhibition. On June 10 the Queen and
Prince Albert, accompanied by the Princesses, the Duke and
Duchess of Saxe-Coburg, and Duke Ernest of Wurtemberg,
visited the Gardens. The Times of the following day said :

Her Majesty occupied a considerable period of her visit in inspecting
the celebrated collection of humming birds which has been placed in the
Garden by Mr. Gould. The admirable manner in which this beautiful
group is illustrated, and the extreme rarity of several of the species, have
rendered the building in which they are contained a most important addi-
tion to the previous attractions of the establishment, and supplied in the
only possible manner a great desideratum in the ornithological part of the
Society's collection. The visitors who have repaired to the Gardens for the
purpose of examining the humming birds include the most distinguished
names in science and in art, as well as in rank, and they have universally
expressed their surprise and admiration at the unexpected extent of the

106

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

species, the peculiar forms of their plumage, and the intense brilliancy
of colour for which they are remarkable above every other part of the
animal kingdom.

At the end of the season this house was taken down and
re-erected in what is now the Middle Garden, where, till the

PLAN OF THE GARDENS, 1851.

end of 1852, it served to contain the humming-bird collection.
For this exhibition a separate charge of sixpence was made
to the general public, which was taken by Gould. After
being put to various uses the structure was made into the
parrot-house, and the birds were removed thither in 1854
from the older building in the South Garden, which was

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THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 107

then fitted up for the small carnivora, and they tenanted it
till it was pulled down in 1904, and the New Small Mammals
House erected on the site.

In the Exhibition year the Western Aviary was completed,
presenting a front 168 feet long, with nineteen divisions,
containing in all about two hundred birds of various species.

The Aquarium — or Aquavivarium — was opened in May,
1853, and at once became popular, no doubt owing to the
writings of Gosse, Bowerbank, Warrington, and others. The
tanks were stocked with sea and river fish, and marine and
fresh- water invertebrates— from cuttle-fish to sponges. In his
second Guide, published in 1858, D. W. Mitchell claimed
that the success which attended the public exhibition of fish
and the lower aquatic animals, then first attempted on a
large scale, had promoted the study of these creatures, not
only at home but on the Continent.

There was, however, an intention to do practical work.
At the Anniversary Meeting in 1854, the Council were able,
"through the kindness of Count Montizon, to exhibit the
first photograph of a living fish which has been produced
in England, and probably in Europe," and they pointed out
the great advantage " to the study of Ichthyology deducible
from this application of the art."

Neither ichthyology nor pisciculture was much advanced
by this Aquarium, but the establishment of tanks for marine
and fresh-water invertebrates, and the observations made on
molluscs, crustaceans, polyzoans, worms, starfish and sea-urchins,
and hydroids, added something to human knowledge. As a
case in point, Mr. Holdsworth's studies on Gladonema
radiatum, the " slender coryne " of Gosse's " Devonshire Coast "
(p. 257, pi. xvi.), may be mentioned. With regard to these
Hincks said in his " British Hydroid Zoophytes " (i. 64) :

My friend Mr. E. W. H. Holdswortli has been fortunate enough to
procure several specimens of the free zooid from the tanks in the
Zoological Gardens, and has succeeded in keeping them, so as to trace
almost the entire course of the reproductive history, while his own
aquarium has yielded the polypites in considerable numbers. His notes
enable me to supply an original account of the species, which corroborates,
and in one or two points corrects, that which we have from Dujardin.

108 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

More important even than this was the influence of the
Aquarium in preparing the way for the foundation of biological
stations, fresh-water and marine, where systematic work could
be carried on by trained observers.

The basement storey of the giraffe house was fitted up in
1854 to afford sleeping accommodation for six keepers. Three
years later the wire fence on the south-west boundary was
strengthened to keep out dogs, which "in some instances
had occasioned actual loss of life in specimens of value."
There is a record of a fallow deer having been killed by
leaping against a fence in the grazing land when pursued by
a dog belonging to a stranger in the park.

In 1859 that part of the antelope house which faces the
south entrance was opened, and stocked with the zebras and
wild asses, which were kept here for some time. The cost
of this section was £1,100. The swine sheds are of the same
date, and a walk was made thence to the reservoir, which
stood near the site of the present reptile house ; this joined
another walk leading to the south entrance. One great im-
provement was introduced — the labelling of the houses to
correspond with the headings in the Guide.

There was general satisfaction with the housing; but sug-
gestions were made for improvements. In 1855 a writer in
the Quarterly Review (Dec, p. 233) pleaded for some kind
of open-air arrangement for the carnivora :

With half an acre of enclosed ground strewn with sand, we might see
the king of beasts pace freely, as in his Libyan fastness, and with twenty feet
of artificial rock might witness the tiger's bound. Such an arrangement
would, we are convinced, attract thousands to the Gardens and restore to
the larger carnivora that place among the beasts from which they have
been so unfairly degraded. We commend this idea to Mr. Mitchell, the
able secretary to the Society, who has shown by his system of "starring"
how alive he is to the fact that it is to the sixpenny and shilling visitors
who flock to the Gardens by tens of thousands on holidays that he must
look to support the wise and liberal expenditure he has lately adopted.

By bequest of the late President, the eland herd, con-
sisting of two bulls and three cows,^ passed from the

* The hulls, under a year old, were received at Knowsleyin June, 1851; two
of the cows, prohahly horn in 1849, were imported in 1850, and the other was
bred at Knowsley in 1844.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 109

Knowsley menagerie into the possession of the Society.
These were the first examples of this species received at
Regent's Park; and in their report presented at the Annual
Meeting on April 29, 1852, the Council said that the mag-
nificent stature of these animals, their intermediate form
between the antelopes and cattle, the quality of their flesh,
and the prospect of their not infrequent reproduction in this
country, rendered the possession of them in every respect
an object of the highest interest.

Elands were introduced into England by Lord Derby, who
sent out a collector for that purpose. This agent obtained
two bulls and a cow, which he landed at Liverpool in
October, 1842. As soon as possible they were utilised for
breeding, for the distinctive note of the management at
Knowsley was the propagation of animals likely to be service-
able to man. Of two calves thrown by this cow, it was
noted that the sires were prepotent. Attempts were made to
produce hybrids between this species and domestic cattle. An
eland bull was introduced to an Ayrshire and a shorthorn
cow, but no calf was born. In the "Gleanings from the
Knowsley Menagerie," Lord Derby recorded his fears that the
experiment of a cross would not succeed, and no other trial
seems to have been made.

By March 3, 1855, six calves had been produced — one
male and five females — at Regent's Park. A young bull and
two cows were sold to Viscount Hill in 1855, for his park at
Hawkstone, and in the following year the Marquess of Breadal-
bane also purchased three calves for the purpose of estab-
lishing these animals in Scotland. In the Annual Report for
1859 a table was given showing that up to June, 1858, sixteen
calves had been born in the Gardens, and there was an increase
of four in the Hawkstone herd. In 1855 it was proposed
that the President should admit elands into the Royal domains,
but the matter was not carried further. The private herds were
dispersed in the 'sixties, and there the question of acclimatisa-
tion rested till it was taken up by the Duke of Bedford.

In the Times of January 21, 1859, a letter from Owen appeared
on the subject of eland meat. He had received from Lord Hill
a joint answering to the short ribs of beef. After being hung

110 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

ten days it was simply roasted with part of the loin-fat or
suet, some of which was used for a suet pudding. Three brother
naturalists formed with Owen a " committee of taste," to test the
qualities of this joint of the first eland fattened for the table.
When carved the meat presented the appearance of pork, and
the committee were unanimous that in texture it was the finest,
closest, most tender and masticable of any. In taste, the first
impression was of its sweetness and goodness without any
strongly marked flavour, which the committee thought might
be due to the fact that the animal was young. It was compared
with veal, with capon; finally the suggestion that it was
(mammalian) meat, with a soupgon of pheasant flavour, was
adopted. And their final conclusion was " that a new and
superior kind of animal food had been added to the restricted
choice from the mammalian class at present available in
Europe."

Another great attraction was the elephant with her calf, pur-
chased of Mr. Batty, the well-known equestrian. The dam was
obtained by a dealer at a fair in Cawnpore at the end of August,
1850. On the journey down to Calcutta her owner made a halt
for three weeks, during which she gave birth to the healthy little
calf. The fatigue of the journey diminished the mother's supply
of milk, and the young one was fed with zebu's milk, which
agreed with it very well. The natives who saw the baby on
the march to Calcutta regarded it with interest, as elephants
seldom breed in the state of semi-domestication in which they
are kept in India ; consequently a sucking elephant was as rare
a sight there as Obaysch was at Alexandria. This was certainly
the first instance in which so young an animal of this species
had been brought to England. Indeed, its small size led to the
erroneous belief that it was born in the Gardens. It sucked
daily till the dam was sold to the Dublin Gardens in 1854„
and grew till within a year of its death, which occurred from
tuberculosis, in 1875; and it was then just 8 ft. high at the
withers.^

In 1853 rheas bred for the first time in the Gardens, though
emeus had been hatched in this country many years before.
The rhea chicks were figured in the Illustrated London New&

*PrQceeding8, 1875, p. 542.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. Ill

of July 23, and in describing the novelties at the Gardens,
the writer said:

Among these are three young American ostriches {Rhea americana)
which have been hatched at the Gardens with the aid of Cantelo's
machine.* They are growing very rapidly, and appear to thrive as well
under the artificial treatment to which they have been subjected as if
they had been produced on the Pampas. They are attended during the
day by a little boy, for whom they evince the most lively attachment.

The second qiiagga to come into the possession of the Society
was obtained from Jamrach this year. It lived in the collection
till 1872, and was the last example exhibited in England. In a
hst of the quaggas that have lived in the Menagerie, given in the
Proceedings (1901, i. 165, 166), it is stated that the specimen
was "sold to Mr. E. Gerrard, and is now in the Zoological
Museum at Tring." There is the best authority — that of Mr.
Gerrard himself — for stating that the Tring quagga was pur-
chased by him from Mr. Franks of Amsterdam. He remounted
the skin, which had been badly stuffed, and sold the specimen
to the Hon. Walter Rothschild.

In October, 1851, the Knowsley menagerie stock was sold by
auction on the ground by Mr. Stevens. There were about 650
lots, comprising over 1,600 animals, of which 345 were mammals
and 1,272 birds, representing 94 and 318 species respectively ;
207 mammals and 549 birds had been bred at Knowsley, the
former representing 39 and the latter 45 species. At this sale
the Society purchased 160 animals, representing 62 species, at a
cost of nearly £1,000. Among these were four black-necked
swans, a species introduced by Lord Derby, who received four of
these birds from Valparaiso a few months before his death.
They were bought by A. D. Bartlett, on behalf of the Society, for
£160. In the copy of the catalogue in the Hanover Square
library is a manuscript note to the effect that the swans were
" probably 1 male and 3 females." Two were sent to Queen
Victoria ; the two retained for the Gardens were a pair, for they
made a nest, and hatched out four cygnets in June, 1857 —
the first reared in Europe — and another clutch of four in 1858.

Two birds introduced this year deserve mention — the southern

♦ This was an early form of incubator, in which the heat was applied from above.

112 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

apteryx and the weka rail ; the former was presented by
Governor Eyre and the latter by Captain Stokes, R.N. Attempts
were made to send examples of the kakapo, the large ground
parrot of New Zealand, to this country, but they were unsuc-
cessful. One, however, did well till within 600 miles of the
coast, when it was killed by an accident.

If one looks down from the terrace on to the polar bears'
den, the old railing and the new may be differentiated. The
latter, covering in the top, was added this year. A male and a
female were kept here. The former, not always on good terms
with his mate, sometimes had the worst of their not infrequent
encounters, but at length escaped by scaling the wall and climb-
ing over the bars that were bent inwards. The bear was soon
recaptured ; but the incident led to an order that the whole
of the yard should be caged over.

The next year the red river-hog from the Cameroons was
added to the collection. There is a notice in the Illustrated
London News of October 9, 1852, which shows that the policy
of introducing new animals likely to prove valuable from an
economic point of view was pursued. Having remarked on
the industry with which the world has been searched for
forms that add to or improve the races of domestic animals,
the writer proceeds:

The Society have already produced a very interesting and shapely
cross between the Indian wild hog and the Berkshire breed. It will be
desirable to ascertain in what degree the admixture of this new blood may
hereafter tend to improve the somewhat overbloated candidates for porcine
honours at the critical board of the Smithfield Club in Baker Street.

In October a keeper in the reptile room was killed by the
bite of a cobra. Unfortunately, the result was due to his own
folly. He had been drinking overnight with a friend who was
about to sail for Australia, and in the morning he wanted to
show some companions his skill in handhng venomous reptiles.
At last he took a cobra out of its cage, and swung it round his
head, claiming that he was a serpent-charmer. The reptile was
irritated and struck at him, inflicting a wound on the nose. The
man at once realised his terrible position ; he was removed to
the hospital without delay, but died in a few hours.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 113

The following remarks on the subject are quoted from the
Times of October 23, 1852 :

The accident occurred in the serpent-house, which, as everybody who
has visited the gardens will recollect, is fitted up in such a manner as, with
the most ordinary precautions, to ensure perfect safety from casualties of
the kind. By means of an iron rod, hooked at the end, and inserted
through the small aperture at the top of each compartment, the reptiles
are easily removed into the compartment next their own, and made secure
there while the keepers place food in, and clean out the empty one.
Visitors are enabled to see the serpents in perfect security, through the
thick glass fronts of the compartments, and nothing can be better than the
arrangements of the Society in this portion of their display, the keepers
having the strictest orders never on any account to lift the glass slides
or to attempt doing anything in the compartments without first removing
their occupants.

An inquest was of course held, and the jury found that the
poor fellow's death was the consequence of his own rashness
and indiscretion.

The first great ant-eater exhibited was obtained in an un-
expected way. While passing a shop, occupied temporarily
by a showman, the Secretary was attracted by the doorman's
invitation : " Come and see the great antita heat a hegg ! " ^
He paid his money, and the result of his report to the Council
was that the animal was purchased. The Literary Gazette of
October 8, 1853, said:

The specimen now exhibiting at the Zoological Gardens was one of a
pair captured near the Rio Negro in the Southern Province of Brazil,
and shipped for England by some German travellers. The male died on
the voyage ; the female arrived about a fortnight ago, and was exhibited
in Broad Street, St. Giles, until purchased by the spirited administrators
of the Zoological Society's funds for the sum of £200. The Council in
effecting this purchase have shown that they comprehend their duties in
a wide and liberal sense, and that not the least of these is to secure for
exhibition, when possible, every rare animal which has not before been
seen alive in England, irrespective of difficulties or expense in maintaining
such acquisitions.

It was stated in the Gazette that this example was the first
to reach Europe alive. Thereupon J. T. Pettigrew wrote calling

* Field, February 10, 1900. The form "antita" occurred in more than one
contemporary newspaper description of the animal, and was intended to represent
the pronunciation of the Germans.
I

114 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

attention to a plate (ii.) and description in Sir John Talbot
Dillon's "Travels through Spain," published in London in
1780, of a stuffed specimen in the Cabinet of Natural History
at Madrid.

The great ant-bear from Buenos Ayres, the Myrmecophaga Jubata of
Linnaeus, called by the Spaniards Osa Palmeray was alive at Madrid in
1776, and is now stuffed and preserved in this cabinet. The people who
brought it from Buenos Ayres say it differs from the ant-eater, which only
feeds on emmets and other insects ; whereas this would eat flesh, when cut
in small pieces, to the amount of four or five pounds. From the snout to
the extremity of the tail this animal is two yards in length, and his height
is about two feet. The head very narrow, the nose long and slender. The
tongue is so singular that it looks more like a worm, and extends above
sixteen inches. His body is covered with long hair of a dark brown, with
white stripes on the shoulders ; and when he sleeps he covers his body
with his tail.

Crowds flocked to the Gardens to see this strange creature —
almost as great an attraction as was the hippopotamus on its
arrival. Then, the other animals were feigned to be jealous of
Obaysch; now, Punch (October 22, 1853) represented him as a
deserted favourite:

A HOWL FROM THE HIPPOPOTAMUS.

I'm a hippish Hippopotamus, and don't know what to do,

For the public is inconstant and a fickle one too ;

It smiled once upon me, and now I'm quite forgot.

Neglected in my bath, and left to go to pot.

And it's oh ! oh ! out of joint is my nose,
It's a nasty Ant-eater to whom everyone goes.

He is my abhorrence, I think him quite a hum,
He's worse than that marine Vi-va-ri-um ;
He beats the Knowsley beastesses* of the Derby dilly,t
And makes the baby Elephant look small and silly.

And it's oh ! oh ! pity my woes !

An American Ant-eater has put out my nose.

A Gujerat lion was presented by the Rajah of Jahnuggur ;
and the presence of this animal in the Menagerie dissipated the
belief that Asiatic lions were maneless. From the Guide of 1858-

* The eland herd bequeathed by Lord Derby. See ante.
f So down thy hill, romantic Ashbourn, glides
The Derby dilly carrying three insides.

Poetry of the Anti-Jacobin, No. xxiv.

Antelope House. (See p. 127.)
From the " Illustrated London Neivs," August 3, 18G1.

Sable Antelopes. (See p. 12S.)
From the ''Illustrated London News,' October 12, 1861.

Plate 22.

TEE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 115

it appears that this animal was as fully maned as the Nubian
lion, of which there was then a seven-year-old example in the
Terrace dens. In 1856 Alderman Finnis presented a pair from
Mesopotamia, and in 1858 the male was "more fully maned in
proportion to his age than the Cape lion next to him."

One would imagine that sending bears to Berne was some-
thing like sending coals to Newcastle ; but in March, 1853, two
young ones were consigned to the Government of that Canton,
in exchange for " chamois or other animals of Switzerland."

The difficulty of finding a mate for Obaysch was solved in
1854, when the Viceroy of Egypt presented a young female
(Adhela) to the Society, and a keeper was sent out to take
charge of the animal. She was brought home on one of the
Peninsular and Oriental Company's boats, and the experience
gained in the transport of Obaysch proved of great service. It is
not certain whether the two-toed ant-eater was exhibited ; but
the Secretary reported to the Council Meeting on September 24
that an example of this very rare animal "had been sent for
purchase to the Menagerie, but that it had died within two days
of its arrival." Thereupon it was ordered that £3 should "be
paid to the importer, the species never having previously been
in the Society's collection."

Sir Stamford Raffles brought home, in 1816, the first clouded
leopard seen alive in England. Two were shipped; one died
on the passage home, and the survivor was sent to Cross's
menagerie at Exeter 'Change. In 1854 two males were obtained
for the Gardens, and this was the first time the species figured
in the list. The native pheasant, or mallee hen, one of the
mound-builders, was also exhibited for the first time ; and a
moribund young walrus was received on deposit, the price
asked being too high to justify purchase, even had the animal
been in good health. Mrs. Owen thus referred to the matter
in her Diary* under the date of October 15 :

R. busy dissecting the walrus which lately died at the Gardens. The
man who had it to sell did a foolish thing in asking an unreasonable price
for it in the first instance— £750. The Society allowed the walrus to have
a place in the Gardens at the man's own responsibility, but would not
listen to such a sum. The animal died, and the man only gets the price
of a skeleton and skin.

* " Life of Richard Owen," pp. 403, 404.

116 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

A moitnd was formed by the brush-turkeys, and in it ten
eggs were deposited between May 16 and June 21. The first
was hatched out on July 18 ; four others subsequently came to
maturity, but three of the chicks died soon after exclusion, and
the fourth was accidentally killed when about a fortnight old.
This chick was quite as strong and promising as the first which
came out of the mound and was successfully reared. It was
said in the Report that if the parent birds bred again, there
would be Httle room for doubt as to establishment of the species
in this country, " if not wild, at all events in a semi-domesticated
and artificial state." Two Impeyan chicks were hatched under a
bantam from eggs laid by the Queen's birds ; and ten Japanese
pheasants were reared from a pure imported cock and a three-
quarter hen. The chicks of both these pheasants lived through
the winter in a slight shed, and had access to the open every
day, even when snow was on the ground.

In the Quarterly Review for December, 1855, there was an
article on the Gardens. The following quotation shows that
the management was mindful of the purposes of the Society,
as defined in the charter — the advancement of zoology and
animal physiology, and the introduction of new and curious
subjects of the animal kingdom :

One of the objects of the Gardens, under the enlightened management
of the Secretary, is to make it what Bacon calls in his " Atlantis " " a tryal
place for beasts and fishes." * For centuries a system of extermination has

* This quotation, from memory, hardly does justice to Bacon, who contemplated
things more important than acclimatisation. In the belief that the fancy of the
" New Atlantis " will be one day translated into fact, the paragraphs which the
Quarterly Reviewer had in his mind are given in full fiom the *' Works "
((ii. 159, edited by Spedding, Ellis, and Heath :

" We have also parks and enclosures of all sorts of beasts and birds, which we
use not only for view or rareness, but likewise for dissections and trials ; that
thereby we may take light what may be wrought upon the body of man. Wherein
we find many strange effects ; as continuing life in them, though divers parts,
which you account vital, be perished and taken forth ; resuscitating of some that
seem dead in appearance, and the like. We try also all poisons and other
medicines upon them, as well of chirurgery as physic. By art likewise we make
them greater or taller than their kind is ; and, contrariwise, dwarf them, and stay
their growth. We make them more fruitful and bearing than their kind is ; and,
contrariwise, barren and not generative. Also we make them differ in colour,
shape, activity, many ways. We find means to make commixtures and copulations
of different kinds, which have produced many new kinds, and them not barren, as

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 117

been adopted towards many indigenous animals ; the wolf and buzzard*
have quite disappeared. . . Noxious animals have been replaced by the
acclimatisation of many of the foreign fauna, which are either distinguished
for their beauty or valuable for their flesh. This transfer, which adds so
much to the richness of the country, can be vastly accelerated through
the agency of these Gardens, which are a kind of "tryal ground" for
beasts, as the fields of some of our rich agriculturists are for foreign roots
and grasses, in which those likely to be of service can be discovered, and
afterwards distributed throughout the land.

The Society sustained a serious loss this year by the death
of the fine Indian elephant, which was a great favourite with
visitors, especially with children, for it was employed for
riding. On many occasions it had manifested extreme terror
during thunderstorms, and in 'the tempest of July the
fright of the animal was so great that death ensued. The
remains were entrusted for preservation to A. D. Bartlett,
then naturalist at the Crystal Palace. From figures furnished
by him it appears that the weight of the dead elephant was a
little over 2 tons 6 cwt.

In 1856 the brindled gnu was added to the Menagerie, as
was the pretty Arabian oryx, the smallest of the genus. This
antelope was also new to science; and Gray, who described
it, named it in honour of the Princess Beatrice, born in that
year. The Queen presented a pair of Honduras turkeys, long
desired in European collections, and two Manchurian cranes,
obtained for Her Majesty by Sir John Bowring, and kept for
some years in the gardens of Buckingham Palace. The herd
of wapiti increased beyond the means of accommodation ; con-
sequently a stag and two hinds were sold to the Marquess of
Hastings.

In response to an appeal from Prince Albert, Lord Canning,
Governor-General of India, with the assistance of influential

the general opinion is. We make a number of kinds of serpents, worms, flies,
fishes, of putrefaction; whereof some are advanced (in effect) to he perfect
creatures, like heasts or birds, and have sexes, and do propagate. Neither do we
this hy chance, but we know beforehand of what matter and commixture what
kind of those creatures will arise.

" We have also particular pools, where we make trials upon fishes, as we have
said before of beasts and birds."

* This is an error ; the buzzard is, as Yarrell said, " the least rare of the larger
hawks."

118

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

officials, had made a fine collection of Himalayan pheasants.
Mr. Thomson, the head-keeper, was sent out to bring them to
England. Queen Victoria, the Marquess of Breadalbane, and
Viscount Hill each contributed £100 to the cost of the under-
taking; and it was agreed that the birds should be divided
between the donors and the Society, so as to increase the
chances of acclimatisation.

Mr. Thomson returned in 1857. The difficulties of the
voyage reduced the number of birds shipped ; but notwith-
standing that unavoidable misfortune, examples of the cheer
pheasant, the black-backed, white-crested, and purple kalij,
and the hill partridge arrived safely, and, as the Council
believed, "in sufficient numbers to afford a reasonable prospect
of acclimatising them in this country." The following table
shows the breeding results of the first four species and the
Impeyan pheasant up to the end of the decade :

Date.

Species.

No. of
Hens.

Eggs Laid.

Hatched.

Reared,

1858

Black-backed Kalij ...
White-crested Kalij ...

Purple Kalij

Cheer Pheasant
Impeyan Pheasant ...

5 ^
1

1 \

2 J

184

63
6
19
26
12

25
8

184

126

116

1859

Black-backed Kalij ...
White-crested Kalij . . .

Purple Kalij

Cheer Pheasant
Impeyan Pheasant

1
2
2

59
33

22
44
10

18
12

8
19

16
9
7

15
3

168

1860

Black-backed Kalij ...
White-crested Kalij . . .

Purple Kalij

Cheer Pheasant
Impeyan Pheasant ...

2
1
1
3

47
24
17
20
33

27
20
11
13
11

14
12

8
7
4

141

Entrance to Zoological Gardens in 1840. (See ;i. 128.)

Photo: Cassell & Co., Ltd.

Present Entrance to Zoological Gardens. {See p. 128.)
Plate 23.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 119

Witli the exception of the Impeyan pheasants, all the chicks
of 1860 were disposed of among the Fellows and correspondents
of the Society before the issue of the Annual Eeport in April,
1861. And for the Impeyans there were numerous applicants,
who only waited for the sex to be determined. Some of the
cheers and kalijs that had been sent to Lord Hill at Hawkstone
throve in an open enclosure where shrubs were the only shelter.

Sir George Grey presented a quagga in 1858, which lived
in the Gardens for about six years. The mounted skin and
skeleton are now in the British Museum (Natural History), and
the animal constitutes the type of a sub-species, known as
Grey's quagga."^ This was the third and last example of the
species, now extinct, received by the Society.

In May an entire Burchell's zebra was entrusted to Rarey
" for the purpose of being submitted to his process of taming
and instruction." The trainer was to give a guarantee that the
animal should not sustain any injury. No satisfactory results
were obtained, and the zebra is said to have been in poor
condition when returned.

Bennett's cassowary and Darwin's rhea were added to the
collection this year. Both birds are of great interest ; and there
is a curious story about the type of the latter told by Darwin
in the " Voyage of the Beagle " (chap. v.). While in Northern
Patagonia he heard of this small " ostrich," and of course sought
to obtain specimens. A bird was shot at Port Desire, and
considered to be a young common rhea. This was cooked and
eaten before it occurred to him that it might be the species
he was looking for. And thus he tells the story :

Fortunately the head, neck, legs, wings, many of the larger feathers,
and a large part of the skin had been preserved ; and from these a very
nearly perfect specimen has been put together, and is now exhibited in the
museum of the Zoological Society. Mr. Gould, in describing this new
species, has done me the honour of calling it after my name.

A kiang, presented by Major Hay in 1859, has been reckoned
the first to be received. If the wild ass from Thibet presented by
Captain Glaspoole in 1831 (p. 56) was correctly identified,
Major Hay's animal of course takes the second place.

* Lydekker,in Knowledge, xxv. p. 221 (1902) ; Pocock, in Annals and Magazine
of Natural History (ser. 7, xiv. 314-28, 1904),

120 TEE ZOOLOGIGAL SOCIETY.

The question of the possible existence of the great auk came
under discussion at the Council Meeting of March 16, 1859. A
letter from Mr. Wolley was read, and the Secretary authorised
to state in reply that the Society would expend " a sum not
exceeding £70 in obtaining and bringing to England a Hving
specimen of the great auk from Iceland, if Mr. Wolley could
succeed in obtaining one."

Professor Newton, in the Ibis (October, 1861), in giving a
summary of Wolley 's researches in Iceland, pointed out that
whether the bird were already extirpated or still existing in
some unknown spot, extinction, if it had not already taken
place, must follow on its re-discovery, which if accomplished
should be turned to the best account. Purely in the cause of
knowledge he thus urged the claims of England :

Our metropolis possesses the best-stocked vivarium in the world. An
artist residing among lis is unquestionably the most skilful animal
draughtsman of this or any other period. By common consent, the
greatest comparative anatomist of the day is the naturalist who super-
intends the nation's zoological collection. Surely no more fitting repository
for the very last of the Great Auks could be found than the gardens of the
Zoological Society of London, where, living, they would be immortalised
by Mr. Wolfs pencil, and, dead, be embalmed in a memoir by Professor
Owen's pen.

In the last year of the decade two shoe-bill storks'^ were
brought home by Consul Petherick and purchased by the
Society. These gigantic birds were the first examples to reach
Europe alive; and the only survivors out of six shipped
at Khartoum, and out of about a score partially reared.
Petherick repeatedly obtained young birds from the nest, but
they died in a few days. Then he hatched out the eggs under
hens, and the young birds would persist in performing all
sorts of unchicken-like manoeuvres with their large beaks
and extended wings in a small artificial pond, supplied with
live fish and offal chopped into small pieces. In Petherick's
collection there was a young hippopotamus, which was
deposited in the Gardens, and afterwards sold to Barnum.

* This species, BdUeniceps rex, was described by Gould in the Proceedings^
1850, p. 1, from a skin obtained by Mansfield Parkyns on the "White Nile. There
is a figure by Wolf.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 121

This was captured in the Bahr-Ghazal, where a huge beast
" carried off the unfortunate cook from the gunwale on which
he was sitting, one bite of the animal's powerful jaws sufficing
to sever his body in two at the waist."

Bucheet, the young hippopotamus, did not travel in the
luxurious fashion of Obaysch and Adhela. He was brought to
England in a structure resembhng a miniature horse-box, with
an occasional bucket of water thrown over him instead of a
bath. The only bad result was a hard, rough skin, which soon
disappeared when the animal was treated to warm baths and
a frequent application of the scrubbing brush. The hippopota-
mus in the " Greatest Show on Earth" was kept in a small
travelling waggon ; yet it was maintained in excellent condition
by dint of daily scrubbing and laving.

The giant salamander of Japan, nearly a yard long, was also
obtained for the collection. This monstrous tailed amphibian is
the largest of living forms, though it was exceeded by the fossil
species, which Scheuchzer mistook for the remains of a human
being, and in consequence described as " the man that saw the
Deluge " (Homo diluvii testis). It was the first brought alive
to England, but at least one example had previously been
exhibited on the Continent.

In February, 1859, the Silver Medal was awarded to Viscount
Canning, Lord William Hay, Captain Hay, Major Henry Kamsay,
the Rajah Rajendra MuUick, Captain James, and Messrs. Bryan
Hodgson and H. G. Keene, for assistance in forming the first
collection of Himalayan pheasants. Mr. Richard Green, the
shipowner, also received this mark of distinction for his co-opera-
tion by giving facilities for transport. Later in the year this
medal was given to Mr. W. D. Christie for his many valuable
donations, and early in 1860, to Sir George Grey for his
numerous donations of South African animals, and to the
Hon. Gerald Chetwynd Talbot for his assistance in the intro-
duction of Indian pheasants.

The expenditure of the Society and the decrease in receipts
caused some anxiety ; and a table was given in the Report pre-
sented at the Anniversary Meeting of 1856, to show that the
number of attendances also had decreased at the British Museum,
where there was no fee for admission. Before this, probably in

122 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY,

1854, a printed Protest had been privately circulated by J. E.
Gray of the British Museum. No copy of it is known ; but its
purport is sufficiently indicated by an article in the Literary
Gazette of April 28, 1855. The writer complained that for the
previous three years the expenditure had exceeded the income
by an average of £2,000 a year; and maintained that the out-
goings ought not to exceed £12,000 a year. For 1855 the
estimates had been calculated at £14,000, and the Secretary
asserted that they could not be reduced.

Certain remedies were suggested. One was, that fewer
animals should be kept. "The mass of the public," said the
Protester, "only require fine specimens of certain popular
animals, with occasional new attractions." It was also pro-
posed that no money should be spent on new buildings, that
the business of the Society should be conducted at the Gardens,
and the Scientific Meetings held in the rooms of some other
society. To the possible objection that the latter would not
be well attended, the anticipatory reply was that matters
could not be worse than they had been of late.

The number of Fellows attending at these meetings seldom exceeds six
or eight, and sometimes there are not more than half as many, the greater
part attending as a duty with the view of preventing the meetings from
dropping altogether.

It was also proposed that the expenditure should be brought
under the control of the Council, and the accounts properly
audited.

The following paragraph is editorial comment :

We quite agree with Dr. Gray that the business premises of the Society
should be at the Gardens, and that the scientific meetings should be held
in the meeting-room of some other society. But the truth is, that the
scientific business of the Society is neglected, and its publications are
becoming most inconveniently more and more in arrear.

The question of making Tuesday, as well as Monday, a
sixpenny day, was considered in 1854 ; but the Council decided
that it was not possible. During August, September, and
October in 1860 the public were admitted on Saturdays at
sixpence. There was a natural protest on the part of some
Fellows, and the practice was stopped.

Photo: Cassell d' Co., Ltd.

EAGLES' AVIARY. (See p. 129.)

Plate 24

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 123

Donations were received for the Museum, but in view of the
great development of the Natural History Galleries of the British
Museum the Council determined to exhibit only generic types.
In 1855 the Museum was closed ; the types of species described
in the Proceedings and Transactions were handed over to the
care of the Trustees of the British Museum, as the Council
believed that in this way they would best carry out the wishes
of donors and collectors. For the sum of £500 the trustees
purchased a valuable series of specimens ; the Queen's Colleges
of Cork and Gal way were buyers to the amount of £700,
and smaller sums were received from provincial museums and
private collectors.

No volume of Transactions was published in this decade, and
in 1857 it was recommended that the issue should be discon-
tinued. Fortunately, wiser counsels prevailed. There is much
valuable information in the Proceedings by the prominent
working Fellows. Owen continued his papers on the great
wingless birds of New Zealand, and described the anatomy of
the wart-hog, the tree-kangaroo, walrus, and great ant-eater.
Dr. Sclater, who became a Fellow in 1850, first contributed to the
Proceedings in 1851, and in the following year Flower read his
first paper, which dealt with the dissection of a galago. Crisp's
series of pathological papers began in 1853 ; and in that year
J. E. Gray made the deposit of the walrus the occasion for an
article, with figures from the works of Gesner, Olaus Magnus,
and other writers. In 1855 Dr. Sclater's Descriptive Catalogue
of the Tanagers appeared, and an account of the African
lepidosiren at the Crystal Palace, by A. D. Bartlett. Wolley's
notes on the nesting of the waxwing were printed in 1857, and
Meves's description of the " neighing " of the snipe in 1858,
when Dr. Giinther's name first appeared as a contributor.
Major Hay's notes on the kiang were given in the volume for
1859, and the " interesting fact " — the fertility of the hybrids
— referred to in the following passage might well be con-
firmed or refuted by experiment:

That the kiangs do breed with the horse I was assured in Tibet, and
that their produce was highly valued. It was also stated that the produce
bred again, which is an interesting fact, and proves that the kiang is
more nearly allied to the horse than to the ass.

124 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

The volume for 1860 was much larger than any previously
published, and contained nearly five hundred pages. Although
there was no striking paper, the usual high level was maintained.
Owen contributed nothing ; but there was an abstract of
Kitchen Parker's notes on the shoe-bill stork, which appeared
in full in the fourth volume of the Transactions. Professor
Newton's observations on hybrid ducks, and Bartlett's practical
notes on animals in the Gardens, are worth recalling.

A plan (see p. 106), with a list of the houses, was issued
in the year of the Great Exhibition, and sold at twopence.
Mitchell's first Guide, published in 1852, contains this plan, but
Gould's humming-bird house, there shown in its original position
in the South Garden, has been erased. The imprint contains
the line " Printed for the Author," and it would seem not to
have been an official publication. Another edition was contem-
plated, which was to contain a " List of Animals," probably on
the lines of that published in 1844, but there is no record of its
publication. In the text is an announcement of the prepara-
tion of a work " for which an original series of illustrations have
been made from animals in the Gardens by the accurate hand of
Mr. Wolf" This refers to the "Zoological Sketches," begun by
Mitchell, with the sanction of the Council. The first volume,
completed by Dr. Sclater, was published in 1860.

The first Catalogue of the Library was published in 1854; it
contained the titles of about four hundred and sixty separate
works, including scientific periodicals.

At the Council Meeting of December 16, 1857, it was pro-
posed to publish a Garden Guide. An amendment, moved
by Dr. Sclater and seconded by Gould, that, "the Secretary
undertaking to complete and have ready for sale a Catalogue of
the Gardens before Lady Day next, the publication thereof be
left in his hands," was carried. This Guide appeared in 1858,
much in the same form as it bore down to the end of 1903,
when that series came to an end.

In 1860 Holds worth's Handbook to the Fish-house was
published, but no second edition was called for. It was intended
to provide visitors with information about the fishes and inver-
tebrate animals exhibited in the fish house, but not to serve as
" a detailed Guide." There was a history of the aquarium, with

THE ZOOLOGIGAL SOCIETY.

125

the principles to be observed in keeping up a balance between
animal and vegetable life ; and to this Introduction succeeded
chapters on the different classes.

During this decade Gould's " Mammals of Australia " and
" Humming Birds " were almost the only important additions to
the Library, beyond the Transactions and Proceedings obtained
from other scientific bodies by exchange. In 1860 the periodi-
cals were examined, and in many " there were found to be
volumes and portions of series missing." The sum of £39
was spent in binding, and £33 in putting up shelving.

Returns of the number of animals in the Menagerie are only
available for two years. On December 31, 1859, there were
364 mammals, 819 birds, and 137 reptiles ; the figures for the
end of 1860 were 467, 931, and 192 respectively.

Exhibited ]

FOR THE First Time.

Breeding Species.

Mammals.

Birds.

Reptiles.

Total.

Mammals.

Birds.

Reptiles.

Total.

1851

1852

—

1853

—

1854

—

1855

1856

—

1857

—

1858

—

1859

—

1860

Fellowship Roll, Visitors, and Finance.

No. of

Admissions to

Income.

Expenditure.

Fellows.

Gardens.

£.

1851

1,641

667,243

26.452

22,380

1852

1,662

305,203

12,802

17,821

1853

1,662

409,076

17,508

17,121

1854

1,744

407,676

16,901

19,043

1855

1,752

315,002

14,088

14,737

1856

1,773

344,184

15,279

15,839

1857

1,736

339,217

14,822

14,352

1858

1,716

333,980

14,034

12,195

1859

1,721

364,356

15,194

14,345

1860

1,716

394,906

16,863

15,949

126

CHAPTER VI.

1861—1870.

The death of tlie Prince Consort on December 14, 1861,
deprived the Society of an able and sympathetic President,
whose powerful influence had been continuously exercised in
furthering the objects it was established to promote. As a
token of respect the monthly meeting that, under ordinary
circumstances, would have been held on December 19, did not
take place. A committee, consisting of Admiral Bowles, Sir
J. E. Tennent, and the Secretary, was appointed to prepare
an address of condolence, which was presented to Her late
Majesty by the Home Secretary.

At the Anniversary Meeting in April, 1862, the Council
reminded the Fellows of "the great and undeviating interest
ever exhibited by their late President in the objects which
this Society have most at heart, and of the many valuable
donations which His Royal Highness's patronage was the means
of conferring upon them."

It is worth noting that one of the last acts of the Prince in
connection with the Society was the appointment of Huxley,
" the great and beloved chief," and Wilberforce, Bishop of
Oxford, Vice-Presidents "of the Society.^

At the Council Meeting of February 5, 1862, Sir George
Clerk was elected into the Council, and then chosen as President
till the next Anniversary, when the choice was approved. He
held ofl&ce till his death on December 23, 1867, and his services
to the Society are thus recorded:

The late Sir George Clerk had been a member of the Society since 1830,
and, before his election as President in 1861, had frequently served on the

* The story of the " too venturesome " Bishop's attack on Huxley, and, through
him, on the " Origin of Species," at the Oxford meeting of the British Association, in
1860, was told in brief by Professor E. Ray Lankester in Natural Science (vii. 120),
in his memorial notice of Huxley. Fuller details will he found in the " Life and
Letters of Charles Darwin" (ii. 320-3).

PLATE VII.

THE TUNNEL, FROM CANAL BRIDGE.

(See p. 153.)

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 127

Council, of which he was for many years a most active and efficient
member. As President he was unremitting in the discharge of the duties
of his office, and ever anxious to promote the interests of the Society.

On January 16, 1868, Viscount Walden (afterwards tlie
Marquess of Tweeddale), a well-known ornithologist, was elected
President till the Annual Meeting, and Professor Huxley was
chosen to fill the vacancy thus caused in the Council.

In 1865 a new office, that of Prosector, was created, for the
reasons thus stated in the Council's report :

1. As likely to lead to a better knowledge of the diseases of animals,
a subject of which we are at the present time lamentably ignorant, and by
the knowledge thus acquired to induce a better treatment of them when
alive ; and

2. In the interests of zoological science, in order that a more perfect
and systematic record may be kept of the internal structure of the many
rare and valuable animals that from time to time die in the Society's
menagerie.

Dr. James Murie, who had been an assistant in the
Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons and medical officer
and naturalist to Petherick's expedition, was selected from
a number of candidates for the new post, as being "in every
way qualified for this arduous situation, and likely at once
to advance the interests of the Society, and those of zoological
science." Dr. Murie filled the post till March, 1870, when he
tendered his resignation on account of ill-health. In accept-
ing it the Council requested him to continue in office, without
discharging any of the ordinary duties, in order to finish
certain papers for the Transactions.

James Thomson, the head-keeper, was pensioned in 1869, and
was succeeded by Misselbrook, who held the post for twenty
years.

In 1861 the antelope house was completed at a cost of over
£4,000, and the animals were transferred thither. It was fitted
up with heating apparatus, which was also adapted to supply the
hot-water pipes in the Terrace dens. The new part, facing the
porpoise pond (afterwards used for sea-lions), contains fifteen
stalls, each communicating by sliding doors with those adjoining,
and opening on to a small yard. One defect, however, is that
the animals cannot be turned into the grazing paddock ; but it is

128

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

intended to obviate this by increasing the area of the yards, and
laying them down in grass. The structure, including the part
previously stocked with zebras, was described in the Press as
" the most commodious and suitable building for animals yet
erected in the Gardens, and by no means deficient in architectural
merits." At first the stock consisted of:

1 Blesbok

1 Lechee

1 Sable Antelope

1 Hartebeest

2 Addax

3 Leucoryx

2 Nylghaie

1 White-tailed/and

1 Brindled Gnu

It was, however, largely increased before the end of the year,
chiefly by the valuable donations of Sir George Grey.

This year it was decided to lay out about £1,500 in providing
better accommodation in the refreshment-rooms, at that time
occupying part of the present site. The Council believed that
the result of this expenditure "would greatly increase the
attractions of the Gardens as a place of public resort."

In the North Garden the Superintendent's house was
practically rebuilt ; the old deer sheds by the hippopotamus
house were replaced by the present brick houses, with slated
roofs, and a new platform was erected on the south side of the
hippopotamus pond.

Sheep sheds were put up in 1862 on the small lawn opposite
the cattle sheds ; the small pheasantry for the Himalayan chicks
was made on the ground afterwards turned into paddocks when
the ostrich house was built; and another gate and money- taker's
lodge was constructed at the south entrance.

New lodges replaced the old wooden boxes for money-takers
at the main entrance in 1863. They were said to be " orna-
mental adjuncts to the Society's premises," with '' the further
advantage of giving shelter from the weather to persons entering
the Gardens whilst they paid the entrance fees or wrote their
names in^the visitors' books."

The New or Eastern Aviary was rebuilt, of larger dimensions
and on different principles. The Council described it as " in
several respects superior to any other building for the care and
exhibition of birds yet erected in this country. The elevation
of the floor was better for display, in addition to improving the
drainage and affording more air and light."

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 129

The monkey house replaced, on another site, a building long
recognised as defective, and on this it was a vast improvement.
But the old house possessed one advantage not to be found
in the new one — open-air cages to which ready access might
be allowed to the animals at the will of the keeper. Many of
the baboons and hardier monkeys are now kept in the open
but in the matter of an outdoor annexe the monkey house
in Regent's Park is, for the time being, behind Manchester
and Clifton. The erection of a row of cattle sheds enabled
the authorities to exhibit the collection of bovine animals in
a connected series.

The whale pond or porpoise basin, afterwards used for sea-
lions, was built this year. A beluga, or white whale, had lived
for two years in a tank in the Aquarial Garden, Boston, U.S.A.,
and this seems to have inspired the idea of providing accommo-
dation for cetaceans in Regent's Park.

In the spring of 1865 the Council were able to announce
that after the long and severe winter the deaths in the
monkey house had been very few, and the greater number of
the animals remained in excellent health. The cost of the
house and laying out this western corner of the South Garden,
making it one of the best-arranged and most attractive por-
tions of the grounds, was very little short of £5,000. Railings
and gates were put at the main entrance, the paddock of the
antelope house was securely fenced, and the first dissecting
room built. In the North Garden the beaver pond was made,
and the sheds, close by, erected for the smaller deer.

The old eagle aviary in the centre of the Garden was pulled
down and the site added to the lawn in 1866. With the material
and some from the outside cages of the old monkey house the
existing eagle aviary was constructed on the site of the last-
named building. The rest of the wire work was utilised for the
vultures' cages in the walk leading to the right from the south
entrance. Wolf's famous water-colour drawings were exhibited
in the upper part of the old Museum building, which had been
fitted up for that purpose.

In 1867 sheds for rodents were added to the north end of
those used for the swine ; and in the North Garden the walk
eading from the kangaroo sheds over the tunnel to the parrot
J

^l''

130 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

house was made, as were the wombats' pens, since cleared away
to aiford space for the kangaroo paddock.

The next year the deer sheds were finished, and the animals
transferred thither from the wapiti house, which was then de-
molished to allow of the erection of the elephant house on the
site. This structure was to have been ready for occupation in
November, but the animals were not removed to the new
quarters till late in the following summer. It contains eight
roomy stalls, four opening into one paddock, and four into
another, each having a large bathing pond. In the upper storey
are four good rooms for keepers, and excellent forage lofts. The
old house was then cleared away. The paddocks, the terrace
walk in front of the house, and the eastern pond date from the
following year; the western pond dates from the 'thirties, but
was slightly altered in shape.

The stock consisted of two young African elephants (,?$), two
Indian elephants ( J $ ),two Indian rhinoceroses {$ $ ), an African
rhinoceros ( J ), and an American tapir ($). This the Council
believed to be " by far the finest and most nearly complete series
of the larger living representatives of the Cuvierian order of
pachyderms that had ever been brought together in Europe."

New dining-rooms, kitchens, and cellars were provided at the
refreshment-rooms in the South Garden, for which the lessee
agreed to pay an increased rent ; and in the North Garden the
gazelle sheds were put up.

Several applications had been made by the Council for an
extension of the area devoted to the Gardens ; but they could
only obtain permission to re-enter on the strip north of the
canal which had been surrendered to the Crown in 1841. This
change, which took place in 1869, made the total area 30 ac.
2 r. 34 p., for which the yearly rent is £358 Os. 8d.

In 1861 two valuable collections of animals were received
from Sir George Grey, Governor of Cape Colony. These were
brought home by Mr. Benstead, a collector employed by the
Society. One consignment arrived in May, and included the first
koodoo and steinbok brought alive to Europe ; the first grysbok
and rehbok to come into the possession of the Society, and a
zebra mare, entered as a Burchell. Attention was called to this
animal, as being different from ordinary specimens " in having

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TBE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 131

the stripes further extended down the legs, and rather different
markings on the back." There the matter ended till 1865, when
E. L. Layard wrote to J. E. Gray, sending figures and descriptions
of what he called a new species of zebra. " I wish," he said, " to
name the animal Equus chapmanni, after its discoverer, my
friend James Chapman, who has done so much for African dis-
covery, and who has hitherto reaped no reward." This letter
was read at the scientific meeting of May 9, when Dr. Sclater
exhibited a drawing of the animal by Wolf {Proceedings, 1865,
pi. xxii.), and said that it must be referred to this new species,
providing that should stand. The name has stood, but the
form has now only sub-specific rank.

A new bird, the island-hen gallinule, from Tristan d'Acunha,
was also received. This species has lost the power of flight, and
with the shortening of the wings there has been a corresponding
development of the hind limbs. Part of the notice in the
Illustrated London News of July 6, in which issue Chapman's
zebra is well figured, is worth quoting :

To the large and daily increasing number of naturalists of the
" Darwinian " School this bird is most interesting as showing the way in
which animals are modified in accommodation to circumstances. The
organs of flight would be of little use to a moor-hen on the dry, bush-
covered rock of Tristan d'Acunha, while speed in running becomes doubly
valuable where there are no sedgy, fresh-water ponds (such as ordinary
moor-hens love) to supply a ready means of escape.

The second collection, calling for no special remark, was
brought over in November. Mr. Benstead went out again to
collect for the Society, his special object being to secure a
young African elephant and other animals that had long been
desiderata. He was received at Government House, and
made known his wants by means of an advertisement in the
Gape Argus. At that date there would seem to have been
no apprehension as to the approaching extinction of the
quagga. According to Mr. Bryden it disappeared south of
the Orange River before 1865, and probably within another
score of years it vanished from what was then the Orange
Free State, and was as completely lost as the dodo. Yet in
1861 Mr. Benstead expressly barred quaggas. The prices he
offered for animals, quoted on the following page, cannot be
called high :

132

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

ZOOLOGICAL SPECIMENS

FOR THE

ROYAL SOCIETY.*

Mr. Benstead having returned to the Colony as Agent to the
Zoological Society of London, to collect living specimens for their
Menagerie, hereby gives notice that he will pay handsome Premiums for
all kinds of Animals and Birds. Thus, for a fine healthy pair (Male and
Female) of Elephants he will give the sum of £180 ; the same sum for a
similar pair of Rhinoceroses ; for a Zebra, £20 ; for a Young Bull Eland,
£15 ; and for other Animals equally liberal Sums, according to their value.

2 Elephants
Rhinoceros
A Pair of Koodoo .. .

Ant-Bears ... ...

(A Pair of Dead Specimens in Brine are required.)
A. Pair of Gemsboks

„ Hartebeestes

„ Rheboks

,, Zebras (not Quagga)

„ Rock Rabbits

„ "Wattled Cranes ...

„ Crested Cranes ...
A Young Male Eland
A Pair of Springboks

each

£90 0

90 0

31 10

15 0

30
30
10
40

Any Specimens of the Antelope Tribe will be paid handsomely for.
Application to be made to Mr. Benstead, at Government House.

An official advertisement appeared in the Field in November,
1861, offering the following birds of the year, from which it
will be seen that the season was a good one for the Himalayan
pheasants :

Cheer, one male and two females
Purple kalij, seven pairs
Black-backed kalij, five pairs ...
White-crested kalij, eight pairs

£7

£12 a pair
£10 „
£10 „

• The epithet " Royal " is often wrongly prefixed to the title Zoological
Society of London. This is sometimes done by Fellows, and in a recent "Life"
Sir William Flower is described on the title page as Late President of the Hoi/al
Zoological Society. The Zoological Society of Ireland is entitled to the epithet.
It is evident from the text that Mr. Benstead's "Royal Society" is really the
"Zoological Society of London."

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 133

The first living aye-aye to reach Europe was presented in
1862 by Mr. Edward Mellish of the Mauritius. In 1859 Dr.
Sand with sent a spirit specimen to Owen, which formed the
material for his memoir in the Transactions. Sonnerat dis-
covered the species in 1780, and brought a specimen to
Paris, probably the only one known in Europe till the subject
examined by Owen. The animal is about the size of a cat,
clothed in long dark-brown fur, with a woolly coat, and is
confined to the forests of Madagascar. "I am told," wrote
Sandwith to Owen, " that the Aye- Aye is an object of venera-
tion at Madagascar, and that if any native touches one he is
sure to die within the year; honce the difficulty of obtaining a
specimen. I overcame the difliculty by a reward of ten pounds.'*

Great interest centres in this species from the fact that it
was formerly classed with the Rodents till Owen settled its
true position as an aberrant lemur. As a menagerie animal
the aye-aye is not attractive, its nocturnal habits causing it
to spend the day in its sleeping-box.

Prior to this one had been kept in confinement in Reunion,
as appears from a paragraph in the Journal dw Commerce
translated in the Literary Gazette of December 16, 1854:

The Zoological Gardens have received a specimen — the only one known
to exist — of the monkey-rats described by De Blainville. It is called the
aye-aye^ and comes from the unexplored forests of Madagascar. From its
appearance, its bushy tail, and its teeth, it would be taken for a squirrel.
But it is of the size of a large hare ; its colour is entirely black, and on its
back is long and thick hair like bristles. Its tail, extremely long, has
hair at the end which spreads out bilaterally and horizontally. This tail
serves as a sort of parasol to shelter its head, when it lies rolled up in a
corner. ... It is said that the animal digs itself a hole ; but it escaped
one day, and was found perched in a tree. It is fed on a certain descrip-
tion of larvae.

The reference to the food in the last sentence is interesting,
since Bartlett recorded the fact that the aye-aye in the Gardens
exhibited no inclination to take any kind of insects, but fed
freely on a mixture of milk, honey, eggs, and any thick, sweet,
glutinous fluid, rejecting meal-worms, grasshoppers, the larvae
of wasps, and all similar objects. Consequently he was inclined
to think that the animal was not insectivorous."^

* Proceedings, 1862, p. 222.

134 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY,

Dr. A. R. Wallace brought home two lesser birds-of-paradise,
the first exhibited in this country, though, according to the
Saturday Review (May 17), there was " a kind of zoological
tradition that a paradise-bird was once alive at Windsor in the
possession of the late Princess Augusta." Dr. Wallace's account
of the manner in which he obtained the birds and brought
them to England is well known, and forms one of the most
interesting portions of his " Malay Peninsula." When the birds
arrived they were in good health and very lively ; their plumes
were only about 5 in. long, the old ones having been shed,
while the new ones had not yet grown.

At first they were exhibited in the upper part of the
Museum building, a room having been fitted up there, with a
cage of wirework 20 ft. long and 11 ft. wide. As both were males
it was found necessary to keep them apart, the sight of each
other, or even a paradise- plume waved in the air, exciting them
greatly. The Superintendent, therefore, had the cage divided
by a screen, which excluded the light, and the birds placed
in the separate compartments. They were afterwards removed
to the new aviary in the South Garden, and the room originally
fitted up for them was used for the more tender monkeys.

Examples of the kagu were received from Dr. Bennett, and
close observation of its habits in confinement enabled Bartlett to
detect its relationship with the sun-bittern. His conclusion was
confirmed by the anatomical work of Kitchen Parker and Murie.
Both birds are the relics of generalised forms related to the
rails. Professor Newton has noted that in moments of excite-
ment both birds abandon their ordinary placid demeanour and
execute a variety of violent gesticulations, dancing round
and holding the tip of the tail or one of the wings by the tip
of the bill.

From this year dates a successful experiment in acclima-
tisation at the Antipodes. The Council purchased some young
red deer and shipped them to New Zealand for Sir George Grey^
then endeavouring to introduce this species into the colony. At
the scientific meeting of November 18, 1902, Dr. Henry Woodward
reported that the herd in the Otago district numbered from four
to five thousand, and that there were several similar herds in
other parts of New Zealand. Quoting from the current report

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THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 135

of the Otago Acclimatisation Society, Dr. Woodward said that
" quite a number of the heads obtained in the previous season
had antlers from forty to forty-six inches long from tip to base,
with a width of span up to forty-one inches ; and several of the
carcases weighed from five to six hundred pounds."

In the reptile room a West African python laid about a
hundred eggs, which she incubated, from January 13 till April 4,
without bringing off a brood. After she had been sitting about
a fortnight Bartlett opened an egg, and found a living embryo
inside. "There is no doubt," said a writer in the Times of
April 5, "that the frequent removals of the blanket in un-
covering the eggs, and the occasional partial uncoilings of the
snake, caused too numerous sudden changes of temperature for
the proper development of the young." Mr. Punch, on April 19,
thus addressed the Fellows who had taken the temperature
periodically, and made other investigations:

Like boys, who when they've sowed a seed, still of its progress doubting,

Will pull it up from time to time to see if it is sprouting,

So you in your anxiety to see my Pythons small,

Have poked and pulled and fingered me till you've got none at all.

The Indian collection made for the Society by its Correspond-
ing Members, the Rajah Rajendra Mullick, Mr. A. Grote, Dr.
John Squire, and Mr. William Dunn, was brought home in July,
1864, by Mr. J. Thomson, the head-keeper, who had been sent
out to Calcutta for that purpose. He was very successful, and
there were but few deaths on the passage. A gratuity of £50
and the thanks of the Council were voted to him for his services.
The most important animals received were :

2 Indian Rhinoceroses ( c^ , ? )"*

2 Black Cuckoos

2 Rose-coloured Pastors

1 Rhinoceros Hornbill

2 Concave Hornbills

3 Javan Peafowl

2 Rufous tailed Pheasants

1 Peacock Pheasant

2 Indian Tantaluses
2 Indian Jabirus

2 Sarus Cranes, and
2 Land Tortoises

3 Lineated Pheasants

In this year the tooth-billed pigeon of Samoa, which had
been reckoned as extinct, was received from Dr. George Bennett

* The male was Jim, which lived in the Menagerie till December, 1904; the
female was sent to the Jardin des Plantes in 1865 in exchange for Jumbo.

136 THE ZOOLOGICAL 80GIETY.

of Sydney. This very curious bird, the nearest Hving ally of
the dodo, lived but a few months in the Gardens. After
death, it was sent to the British Museum, and " served to fill
an important vacuum in the National Collection of Zoology."

The Saiga antelope was introduced this year, and towards its
close a porpoise was exhibited in the pond by the antelope
house — the first example of a cetacean shown to the public,
though some had been received before. The attempt to keep
porpoises was not very successful. This animal lived for twenty-
seven days, and " was only lost through the accident of a severe
frost coming on somewhat unexpectedly."

The first prongbuck, purchased in 1865, is remarkable as
having afforded Bartlett the opportunity of establishing the
fact that the horns were shed, as are the antlers of a deer."^
The fact had long been known to the native hunters and
trappers, who tried in vain to convince Audubon and Bach-
man that such was the case. The following is Bartlett's
account in the paper referred to:

On the morning of November 7 the keeper, somewhat alarmed, called
my attention to the fact that one of the horns of the prongbuck had fallen
off. I hurried to the spot immediately, fearing that some accident had
happened, and reached the paddock in time to see the second horn fall to
the ground. My astonishment was much increased at observing that two
fine new horns were already in the place of those just dropped, that these
new horns were soft and covered with long, straight, smooth, and nearly
white hairs, and that the bony core (that I had expected to see) was thickly
covered with soft, new, horny matter. These new horns appeared larger
than the hollow portion of the horns just cast — an appearance due to the
fact of their having pushed off the shed horns by their growth. The long
hair at the base of the horns had concealed the separation that was
taking place.

Jumbo was the most important arrival, from the Menagerie
point of view, and was said to be the first African elephant
brought alive to this country. Bell, however, wrote from The
Wakes, Selborne, to the Field of July 8, 1865, stating that ho
remembered to have seen, some years before, two living African
elephants at the Surrey Zoological Gardens ; and he was of
opinion that they were not the only ones that had been imported

* Froceedings, 1865, p. 718.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 137

though he could not recollect particulars.^ In Bartlett's " Wild
Animals in Captivity" the author, in an article on African
elephants (p. 63) which, from internal evidence, appears to have
been written about 1880, said :

I remember, years ago, seeing a young elephant of this kind, which
belonged to a travelling menagerie, led through the streets of Cardiff. It
was advertised (and most justly) as a great rarity — I think, as a unique
specimen. . . . That it was African, and not Asiatic, was evident at a
glance.

Jumbo was received on June 26, and at the scientific
meeting on the following evening Dr. Sclater announced its
safe arrival in the Gardens, where at first it was quartered
the eland house. About three months later Alice was pur-
chased of Kice for £500. With another elephant she had
been sent to London from Vienna, to which city Casanova had
brought them and other animals collected in the Soudan. In
November she was 3 ft. 6 in. high and 6 ft. 3 in. in girth ; the
corresponding measurements for Jumbo were 5 ft. 6 in. and
9 ft. 6 in.

Commander Fenwick, of H.M.S. Harrier, brought home
and presented to the Society a king penguin from the Falk-
land Islands. Considering that the larger penguins were met
with by Cook on his second voyage, it seems strange that no
example of these flightless sea-birds should have reached the
Gardens till 1865. In the opinion of the Council this was the
only member of the group ever brought alive to Europe up
to that time. During its short life in the Gardens it attracted
universal attention.

This bird was one of a dozen taken on board at the
Falklands, and all the rest died from refusing food. The
survivor was petted and played with by the sailors, and at
length induced by them to swallow some fat and fish ; from that

* There can be little doubt that Bell was mistaken. Had two African elephants
heen exhibited at the Surrey Gardens the fact would have been known to every
working zoologist, and must have found its way into literature. Search through a
large collection of newspaper cuttings relative to the collection, and evidently
made in the office, shows no reference to the subject, nor does an African elephant
appear in the catalogue of the sale, which took place in 1855. But in 1854 there
were two " pygmy Indian elephants " in the Surrey Gardens. These were figured
in the Illustrated London News of June 10.

138 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

time it was carefully fed and brought home in good condition.
This king penguin showed great disinclination to go into the
water, and it was proposed that "while waiting the arrival of
the next porpoise or whale" the bird should be turned into
the large basin."^

Other important introductions were the three-banded arma-
dillo, the Siamese pheasant, f and the red-crowned pigeon of
the Seychelles.

Early in 1866 a Patagonian sea-lion was purchased of a
French sailor named Lecomte, who had brought the animal to
England in the previous year. He had captured it in the
Falkland Islands and trained it to perform various tricks, which
attracted a good deal of attention at Cremorne Gardens and
other places. At the time of purchase the former owner entered
the service of the Society, in which he remained till his death
in 1877. The sea-lion was a great attraction for more than
a year, when it died from inflammation of the intestines, pro-
bably caused by swallowing a fish-hook, which had escaped the
keeper's notice in some of the fish on which it was fed.

The straw-necked ibis, the little whimbrel, and the wattled
lapwing, from Australia, and the trumpeter swan and the ruddy
flamingo, from North America, were received for the first time.

Wolf's sketches were exhibited in the upper part of the
Museum, and attracted a good many visitors to the Gardens.
Some of these unrivalled drawings now adorn the walls of the
meeting-room ; the rest are bound in large folios in the Library.

Clarence Bartlett went out to Surinam to take charge of
an American manatee, which had been purchased of a German
naturalist. Unfortunately, the animal died a few hours before
the vessel arrived at Southampton. Equally unsuccessful was
the attempt to send one home from Porto Rico. Both the
bodies, however, were fresh, and Dr. Murie's dissections formed
the subject of a memoir in the Transactions.

In the winter of this year two accidents happened. The
more serious was the fire in the girafl'e house, which, though it
was soon got under, resulted in the death of an adult female and

* A. R. W.\i.e. Dr. Alfred Russel Wallace] in the Reader, April 29, 1865.
t Now known as Diard's crested fire-back, the Lophura diardi of the British
Museum Catalogue (xxii. 290).

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 139

her fawn. The cause of the fire was never discovered ; but the
" occurrence was conjectured to have arisen from a box of
fusees or lucifer matches having been accidentally left in the
straw, and become ignited by the tread of the animals/' The
loss, estimated at £545, was covered by insurance.

Owing to a heavy snowstorm the netting that roofed in the
pheasantry near the cattle sheds was broken down, and "the
inmates (many of which were worth £50 apiece) escaped into
the Park. Most of the birds were fortunately recovered."

In 1867 the Government agreed to pay the expenses of a
collector, appointed by the Council, to accompany the Abyssinian
expedition. Mr. William Jesse was selected, and brought back
over 1,200 specimens, chiefly birds, which were described by
Dr. Otto Finsch in the Transactions.

Clarence Bartlett sailed for Calcutta early in the year to bring
back a valuable collection, presented by the Rajah Rajendra
Mullick, Mr. A. Grote, Dr. J. Anderson, and other friends in the
East. There were heavy losses on the return voyage. He arrived
in August, bringing with him:

2 Black Tibetan Wolves

lGayal(9)

1 Panolia Deer

1 Entellus Monkey

2 Slow Loris

1 Indian Badger

2 Mitred Pelicans

4 Demoiselle Cranes
2 Polyplectrons
1 White Fruit Pigeon
1 Bronze Pigeon
1 Singing Pigeon
1 Hemipode ; and
8 Water Tortoises

Lecomte was sent out on a collecting trip to the Falklands
for sea-lions and other animals, but did not return till the
following year.

A walrus was purchased for the collection at a cost of £205.
The following extract from the Council's Report describes its
capture and transport to London :

This animal was captured in Davis's Straits by Captain Richard Wells,
of the steam-whaler Arctic, belonging to Messrs. Alexander Stephen &
Co., on August 28 last, under the following circumstances : A herd of from
200 to 300 of these animals was met on the ice by the Arctic in lat. 69° N.
and long. 64° W. A boat's crew was landed on the ice, and the herd
attacked and several individuals killed, amongst which was a large female.
The body of the latter, being attached to the boat and rowed towards the
vessel, was followed by a young male, who swam and dived around, and

140 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

refused to quit his deceased parent. This being noted, he was captured by
a noose swung over his head and one fore limb, from the ship, and hauled
on board. For some days the captive was kept tied to a ring-bolt on deck,
and refused food altogether. Subsequently he was induced to swallow
thin slips of boiled pork, and was thus fed until the vessel reached the
Shetlands, when a supply of fresh mussels was provided for his use. A
large box with openings at the sides, and the animal secured therein, was
brought safely into Dundee. From that port to London the walrus
was conveyed in the steamer Anglia under the care of the Society's
Superintendent.

The animal had very short tusks, and Bartlett had the skull

of an adult male, with tusks over a foot long, fastened to a

tree. " I was much amused one day," he wrote, " by a decent-

- looking man, who appeared to be taking great interest in and

studying the beast, asking me if he had shed that skull." ''^

One Press correspondent seems to have had a strange idea of
a walrus, for he wrote : " At present he has no sign of the for-
midable ' horns ' so familiar to Arctic navigators, and which give
such a peculiar appearance to the sea-horse.'*

The first lyre-bird, a female, was acquired by purchase this
year, and in 1868 a male was presented by the Hon. John Ellis.

A young male African rhinoceros, believed to be the first
received alive in Europe since the days of the Eomans, was
purchased from Hagenbeck, who received it from Casanova. It
was in excellent health and quite tame. Till the elephant house
was finished, the animal was kept in the giraffe house. Its
dimensions on arrival are given as about 6 ft. in length, and
3 ft. 6 in, high at the shoulder. In a wing of the same building
a young male koodoo was housed ; and as the horns were not
developed, a skull with horns was put up in the stall. This
method of exhibition has much to recommend it, but it is not
easy to decide how far it should be carried.

In the autumn of this year Lecomte returned from his
expedition, the object of which was to procure as complete a
living collection as possible of the mammals and birds of the
Falkland Islands. He arrived at Port Stanley on August 11,
1867, and received valuable assistance from Governor Robinson,
who placed a small schooner at his disposal. By the end of the

* " Wild Animals in Captivity," p. 167.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 141

year he had obtained four young sea-lions, but was unable to rear
them, and all died from want of suitable food. Nothing daunted
by this loss, Lecomte tried again, and in June returned to Port
Stanley with four others (one male and three females), and a
collection of other animals, of which the following is a list :

8 Johnny Rooks (Milvagos)
1 Gentoo Penguin

4 Eockhopper Penguins
6 Kelp Geese

9 Loggerheaded Geese

7 Cormorants

6 Starlings

22 Finches

2 Sea-hens (Black Oyster-Catchers)

2 Antarctic Wolves

12 Gulls (Dominican and Scoresby's)

On board the packet between Port Stanley and Monte Video
Lecomte lost seventy-one animals of the eighty-three shipped.
The surviving stock was transferred to the mail-boat at the South
American port, and for some time the sea-lions remained in good
health and condition. The death of a passenger was, rightly
or wrongly, attributed to yellow fever,"^ and the doctor ordered
Lecomte to throw overboard the fish he had shipped for feed-
ing his sea-lions. In consequence three of the four died, and
the survivor (a female) was kept alive as far as Lisbon (where a
fresh stock of fish was obtained) chiefly by the flying-fish which
fell on the deck, and these Lecomte purchased from the sailors
who picked them up.

When this animal arrived at the Gardens it was " about the
size of an ordinary seal, very thin, but still in good health."
The only other animals brought by Lecomte were:

1 Antarctic Wolf I 2 Upland Geese

2 Milvagos I 1 Kelp Goose ; and

1 Dominican Gull

Although the results were less satisfactory than had been
expected, the Council stated in the Report that they had
"every reason to be satisfied with Lecomte's conduct during
this difficult and dangerous expedition."

Dr. Wilson, of the Antarctic exploring ship Discovery, re-
cently called attention to the practice of boiling down penguins

* In Land and Water of August 29, 1868, Frank Buckland wrote : " One of the
passengers being taken ill with a chest disease, it was imagined there was yellow
fever on hoard." The Council's Eeport (1869, p. 23) states that "the passenger
died of yellow fever."

142 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

for oil ; and at tlie final sitting of the Fourth International
Congress of Ornithologists a telegram was sent to the Colonial
Governments at the Antipodes urging them to introduce legis-
lation to prevent the boiling down of sea-birds for oil. Though
the practice seems to have escaped general attention till recently,
it is by no means new. Lecomte told Frank Buckland that
*' there were vast numbers of penguins at the Falkland Islands.
Last year [1867] no less than 405,600 were slain, skinned, and
boiled down to make oil. They yielded 50,700 gallons of oil,
worth Is. 7Jd. per gallon, making a total of £4,119 7s. 6d."

A hoolock gibbon presented by Mr. Grote is entered as new
to the collection ; but in this case, as in that of the kiang, a
prior existence of the species in the Menagerie seems to have
been overlooked."^ The regent-bird was received for the first
time this year.

Many new forms were entered on the List in 1869. Per-
haps the most remarkable were two examples {$ ^) of Pere
David's deer, presented by Sir Rutherford Alcock. The
species was described by Milne Edwards from skins and skulls
sent to Paris by Pere David, a French missionary in China.
This deer has a long tufted tail, and the neck is maned. The
antlers are remarkable in bearing no brow tine; a straight
back tine is given off from the beam, and the extremity may
be forked. These deer are said to have been kept from time
immemorial in the large Imperial Park about a league south
of Pekin, but they are not known in a wild condition.

The Cape ant-bear was introduced this year, as were the
aardwolf, the panda, and the true musk-deer. The two " musk-
deer presented by the Princess Victoria" in 1836 were un-
doubtedly examples of Stanley's chevrotain.-j-

Among the birds were Owen's apteryx and the Amherst

* In treating of the hoolock gibbon at a scientific meeting in 1839, Horsfield
said : " Living individuals are at present in the Society's Gardens in the Regent's
'Pa.Tk."—Froceedinffs, 1839, p. 148.

f Dr. Gray refers also to this genus ITragulus] . . . Moschus Stanley anus, of
which in 1836 there were four living specimens in the magnificent collection of the
Earl of Derby at Knowsley; and two others, consisting of a specimen of each of
the varieties, in that of the Zoological Society of London, the gift of Her present
Majesty." — " English Cyclopaedia " (Nat. Hist.), iii. 907. They were referred
to as " Stanley musk deer " in the President's address at the Jubilee Meeting,
June 16, 1887.

HOOLOCK GIBBONS. (See p. 142.)
From a Drawing by Joseph Wolf.

Plate 28.

TBE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY, 143

pheasant. Five males and a female of the last-named species
were received. This pheasant breeds freely in confinement and
in the open covert. Hybrids between the cock Amherst and the
hen golden pheasant are of surpassing beauty.^ At the sale of
the surplus stock from the Antwerp Gardens in 1872 a male
hybrid was sold for £35.

Two deer, new to science, were received in the last year of
the decade. Both were from the Philippines ; the first was the
Blackish Deerf allied to the sambur, and the other Prince
Alfred's Deer, named by the Secretaryf in honour of the Duke
of Edinburgh, who presented it. The latter bears a general
resemblance to the axis, but the coat is dark chocolate-brown.
A kakapo, the ground parrot of New Zealand, was received on
deposit, and remained in the aviaries about six weeks, when
the owner removed it, "after some unavailing attempts to
come to terms with us as to its price."

The silver medal was awarded in 1862 to Dr. George Bennett
for his many valuable donations, and in 1869 to Sir Rutherford
Alcock for his gift of a pair of Pere David's deer. In 1866 the
bronze medal was given to Henry Hunt, Mathew Scott, and
Benjamin Misselbrook, keepers, for their meritorious success in
breeding foreign animals in the Gardens; and in 1869 Mr.
William Penney, a Fellow of the Society, received it for his
numerous donations to the fish house.

The increasing prosperity of the Society amply justified the
policy of appointing a paid Secretary. In 1847 the income was
only £7,765. Early in that year D. W. Mitchell entered on his
duties ; he resigned in April, 1859, and the receipts for the
previous year had risen to £14,034. Dr. Sclater succeeded him,
and by the end of 1870 the income amounted to £23,257, and
during the decade which closed with this year upwards of
£46,000 was devoted to the permanent embellishment of the
Gardens.

*Mr. W. B. Tegetmeier, in his "Pheasants for Coverts and Aviaries" (ed. iii.
p. 204), says : " There can be no possible doubt of the perfect fertility of the half-
bred Amhersts . . . and an intermediate breed may be perpetuated which pos-
sesses the united beauty of both parent species, and be perfectly permanent in
its characters."

f Brooke, in Proceedings, 1877, p. 57, pi. ix.

X Froceedings, 1870, p. 381 ; ibid. 1871, p. 237.

144 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

It is not easy to appraise Mitchell's work as Secretary
justly and exactly. But certain facts stand out with such dis-
tinctness that they cannot be overlooked. He was thoroughly
in sympathy with Lord Derby's plans for the improvement of
species and varieties already domesticated, the introduction of
new forms, and experimental breeding^. To him was due the
abolition of the rule which required that visitors should be
provided with a Fellow's order. The early policy seems to have
been to keep the public out ; he invited them, and his system of
" starring," as it was called by the Press, caused the favourable
turn in the affairs of the Society, so that his successor came in
with the flowing tide. During this decade there was little
change in the general policy; some important reforms in the
matter of accounts were introduced, and greater activity was
shown in the timely productions of the literature, which was
greatly increased in quantity.

Considerable advance was made in the formation of a Library,
on which rather more than £2,000 was spent during this decade.
By far the larger part of it was devoted to the purchase of
standard zoological works. Up to 1867 there was no Librarian.
In that year Mr. (now Dr.) R. B. Sharpe was engaged as clerk,
his special duty being the care of the books and periodicals,
though for some time he assisted in the general work of the
office. In the Council's Report issued April 29, 1871, he is for
the first time styled " the Society's Librarian."

The Council had long entertained the view that it would be
well if the scientific meetings could be held in more immediate
connection with those of cognate bodies, and especially of the
Linnean Society. After "consideration of the matter by both
Councils, the Linnean Society courteously offered the use of their
room in Burlington House on alternate Thursdays with their own
meetings. Accordingly the meetings of the Zoological Society
were held there during the session November, 1866- June, 1867.
It was hoped that the experiment would lead to successful
results in the best interests of both Societies, and ultimately
to a system of co-operation among the various scientific
bodies of the metropolis. The arrangement was found in
some respects inconvenient, and the Council reverted to the
former practice of holding the meetings on the second and

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 145

fourth Tuesdays of the month in their own house, No. 11,
Hanover Square.

In 1867 the undated tickets issued to Fellows for the
admission of their friends on Saturdays and Sundays were
abolished, and dated books of tickets for these days substituted.

The Davis bequest was received in 1870. Under the will
of the late Mr. Alfred Davis, F.Z.S., there was bequeathed —

To the Zoological Society of London the sum of Two Thousand pounds,
such sum to form a Perpetual Fund, the Income from which is to be
applied to or the creation of Annual Prizes, or any other purpose which
may seem to the Council or governing body of the Society most con-
ducive to its interests.

The legacy duty of ten per cent, reduced the amount to £1,800,
which was at once invested.

A new series of Proceedings was commenced in 1861,"^ and
continued, with little alteration, down to 1890. The recognised
abbreviation in the " Zoological Record " is P. Zool. Soc. London,
but an alternative [P. Z. S.] is allowed. The latter form seems
preferable, and has the merit of priority, besides being uni-
versally known. " Our Proceedings," Dr. Sclater was wont to
say, " are quoted as P. Z. S. all the world over." In 1862 the
bye-law entitling Fellows to receive a copy of the letterpress
of the Proceedings was repealed, and the publication subscrip-
tion was introduced. Every Fellow and Foreign and Corre-
sponding Member who paid a guinea before the Anniversary
Meeting received all the publications for the current year. Of
this date was Louis Fraser's " List of Vertebrated Animals " ;
other editions, containing species subsequently added to the
Menagerie, appeared in 1863, 1865, and 1866. The "Index" to
the Proceedings for the years 1848-60 was issued in 1863, and
that for 1830-47 in 1866. In 1864 a supplement to the
Library Catalogue was published; this contained nearly 1,000
titles, making 1,550 in all.

The Proceedings contained many valuable papers, but un-
doubtedly that which has left the greatest mark was Huxley's

* The title was then altered from Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London to
Proceedings of the Scientific Meetings of the Zoological Society of London. The cheap
edition, without plates, was discontinued in 1866, and one with uncoloured plates
was issued.

146 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

contribution On the Classification of Birds. Bartlett reported
a good many interestng observations on animals in the
Menagerie, and some of his remarks on the Breeding of the
FelidcB in Captivity were borne out later by Crisp, who said
i/^ *'^ that up to that time (1864) no lion had been reared at the
Gardens, although in Womb well's and other menageries a
great number attained the adult state. Crisp, who seems to
have been a sort of honorary pathologist, was responsible
for more than twenty papers. Day's work afterwards formed
the basis of his " Fishes of India," and nearly half of Flower's
memoirs dealt with cetaceans. Gould described a number of
new species. The list of J. E. Gray's papers, most of them of
the ordinary type, fills eleven pages. Heseems to have been the
first to call attention in a scientific journal (Proceedings, 1861,
p. 278) to the fact that a specimen of a young gorilla was
exhibited for some months in Wombwell's menagerie in the
North of England as a chimpanzee, and was as tame and
tractable as the young of the species usually are. As a pendant
he said that an adult male black chimpanzee had been offered
to the British Museum as an adult female gorilla, and was
afterwards purchased and exhibited as such by some institution
on the Continent. Of at least equal importance was his
citation of authority for the statement that the existence of
an African anthropoid other than the chimpanzee — or African
orang, as it was then called — was clearly recognised in the first
quarter of the nineteenth century. The passage to which he
alluded runs thus:

The African Ourang-outan (Pithecus Troglodites) is found here [in
the Gaboon] ; the one I saw was two feet and a half high, but said to be
growing. I offered a fair price for it, considering they are not rare there,
and would not give more when I heard of one being already in England.
The native name is Inchego [nschiego, now usually written tschego] : it had
the cry, visage, and action of a very old man, and was obedient to the
voice of its master. . . . There is a curious variety of monkeys. The
favourite and most extraordinary subject of our conversations on natural
history (which I introduce merely to excite inquiry) was the Ingena
[nglna], compared with an Ourang-outan, but much exceeding it in size,
being generally five feet high, and four across the shoulders ; its paw was
said to be even more disproportionate, and one blow of it to be fatal ; it
is seen commonly by those who travel to Kaylee, lurking in the bush to
destroy passengers, and feeding principally on the wild honey which

PLATE VIII.

THE LION HOUSE

(See p. 155.)

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 147

abounds. Their death is frequently accelerated by the silliness which
characterises most of their actions : observing men carry heavy burthens
through the forest, they tear off the largest branches from the trees, and
accumulating a weight (sometimes of elephants' teeth), disproportionate
even to their superior strength, emulously hurry with it from one part of
the woods to another, with little or no cessation, until the fatigue and the
want of rest and nourishment exhausts them. Amongst other of their
actions, reported without variation by the men, women, and children of
Empoongwa [M pong we] and Sheekan, is that of building a house in rude
imitation of the natives, and sleeping outside or on the roof of it ; and also
of carrying about their infant dead, closely pressed to them, until they drop
away in putrefaction.*

Some of Mivart's best work is to be found in these volumes.
About forty papers stand to the credit of Dr. Murie, the first
Prosector ; some of these were of a pathological and others of a
physiological character. Abstracts of Owen's memoirs, published
in the Transactions, appeared here. Kitchen Parker was a
contributor, and his account of the Sternal Apparatus of Birds
and other Vertebrates f was afterwards expanded into a mono-
graph on the Structure and Development of the Shoulder-
Girdle.t

Salvin alone, and in collaboration with the Secretary, did a
good deal of work on South American birds. Two papers,
compiled at the Gardens, and presented by Dr. Sclater, who
added some notes, deserve mention — the first, in 1868, dealt
with the breeding of mammals in the Gardens during the
preceding twenty years ; the other, in the following year, with
the breeding of birds for a similar period. Mr. Sharpe con-
tributed fourteen papers, of which those on kingfishers and
swallows were the drafts, so to speak, of monographs on the
respective families. Swinhoe added considerably to our know-
ledge of the Chinese fauna, and there were a dozen papers from
Wallace on the birds of the Malay Archipelago.

The fourth volume of Transactions, published in 1862, con-
tained twenty-four papers, the most important being those of

* T. E. Bowdich : " Mission to Ashantee," pp. 440-441 (London, 1819).

t One of the chief results of this work was, by demonstrating the true homo-
logies of the various bones of the shoulder-girdle in fishes, to overthrow, once for
all, Owen's theory of the nature of limbs. — T. JefEery Parker : William Kitchen
Parker, p. 44.

t Ray Society, 1888.

148

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

Owem on Dinornis, the Anatomy of the Indian Rhinoceros, the
Osteology of Chimpanzees and Orangs, and the Anatomy of the
Great Ant-eater ; Parker on the Anatomy of the Shoebill Stork,
and the Secretary on the Struthious Birds in the Gardens.
Eleven papers made up the fifth volume, issued in 1866. Flower
described the Brain of the Javan Loris ; Owen continued his
memoirs on Dinornis, his other subjects being the Aye- Aye
and the Anthropoid Apes ; and Parker gave an account of the
Osteology of the Gallinaceous Birds and Tinamous. In 1869
the sixth volume was published. Owen contributed a memoir
on the Dodo, and two sections of his memoirs on Dinornis;
other authors were AUman, Flower, Gunther, Parker, Mivart,
and Newton.

Exhibited for the

First Time.

Breeding Species.

Mammals,

Birds.

Reptiles.

Total.

Mammals.

Birds.

Reptiles.

Total.

1861

1862

1863

1864

1866

—

1866

1867

—

1868

—

1869

No returns.

—

1870

)

—

Animals in the Menagerie.

Mammals.

Birds.

Reptiles.

Total.

1861

450

843

121

1,414

1862

485

1,114

149

1,748

1863

567

1,063

100

1,730

1864

498

1,255

105

1,858

1865

490

1,365

101

1,956

1866

535

1,305

173

2,013

1867

531

1,320

159

2,010

1868

616

1,220

134

1,970

1869

598

1,245

170

2,013

1870

671

1,333

214

2,118

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
Fellowship Roll, Visitors, and Finance.

149

No. of

Admissions to

Income.

Expenditure.

Fellows.

Gardens,

£.

1861

1,725

381,837

16,072

16,974

1862

1,731

682,205*

27,397

18,713

1863

1,815

468,700

20,284

21,252

1864

1,918

607,169

21,713

24,889

1865

2,143

626,176

23,467

23,671

1868

2,469

627,349

24,378

22,418

1867

2,702

666,214

26,041

26,209

1868

2,924

673,186

24,958

26,313

1869

2,966

572,848

22,768

25,748

1870

3,021

573,004

23,257

24,408

* Exhibition year ; the visitors exceeded those in 1851, the year of the Great
Exhibition, by 14,962 ; and the income was larger b £946.

160

CHAPTER VII.

1871-1880.

In this decade, as in the last, there was a change of Presidents.
The Marquess of Tweeddale died on December 29, 1878, and
at the next Scientific Meeting, on January 14, 1879, the
Chairman, Professor Newton, F.R.S., Vice-President, thus called
attention to the work of the late President:

I am sure there was no Fellow of the Society who took a livelier or
deeper interest in its welfare than did the late Lord Tweeddale ; and if
proof of this assertion seem to anyone wanting, I have but to refer to the
facts that he was not merely content with giving us the countenance of
his high social position, not merely content with presiding at our Council
Meetings, and discharging the formal duties of the office he bore amongst
us, but thai he actively participated in our scientific work, as witness the
valuable and carefully elaborated papers with which he from time to time
enriched our publications, the last of which * you will hear read to-night.
I believe I am right in saying that since these Scientific Meetings were
established, we have never had a President who was so well, so intimately,
known to the majority of the Fellows who attend them, or one who was so
competent to appreciate the papers read or the communications made at
them ; and this, I need not point out to you, has been of great benefit to us.

It became the duty of the Council to select a duly qualified
person to fill the vacant chair. Their choice fell on Professor
(afterwards Sir William) Flower, Conservator of the Museum
of the Royal College of Surgeons. In announcing this fact to
the Annual Meeting on April 29, 1879, they said:

The late Marquess was pre-eminently suited, not only by his social
position, but also by his attainments as a naturalist and his business-like
habits, to be the President of the Society. . ; . In selecting for this high
office, however, the name of Professor Flower, one of the most distin-
guished zoologists of the present day, and for many years a most active
and efficient Vice-President, the Council feel sure that they will receive
the approbation of the Fellows, and that their choice will be duly
ratified.

♦ " Contributions to the Ornithology of the Philippines, No. xii." — Proceedings^
1879, pp. 68-73.

Plate 29.

WOMBWELL'S GORILLA. {See p. U6.)
From a Drawing by Joseph Wolf.

TEE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 151

The Presidency thus commenced lasted, like that of Lord
Derby, for twenty years. To a certain extent these terms of
office may be taken as carrying out respectively the views of
Sir Humphry Davy and Sir Stamford Raffles,"^ as shown in
the letter of the first President quoted on p. 24 ; and Lord
Derby's influence persisted, though in diminishing force, up
to, and even after, this time. There was no abrupt break, nor
anything like a deliberate reversal; the change was gradual,
but none the less sure. Bionomics were neglected in favour
of cabinet studies ; and the results became evident in the
prosectorial work, the literature, and to some extent in the
Menagerie.

A. H. Garrod entered on his duties as Prosector on
January 1, 1872, and held the post till his death on
October 17, 1879. He was an enthusiastic worker; but a
comparison of the titles of his papers with those of his pre-
decessor will show that their conceptions of the duties of
the office were not quite the same. It is not improbable
that there was some change in the views of the Zootomical
Committee ; at any rate, it is clear that the new President
considered the investigations of the Prosector should be con-
ducted entirely from the morphological side. Over his initials
" W. H. F.," he contributed a sympathetic obituary notice of
Garrod to Nature (October 23, 1879), in which the following
passage occurs :

It is, indeed, probable that physiology is the subject to which he
would most willingly have devoted his attention, had not his energies
been turned to the pursuit of morphology by his receiving the appoint-
ment in January, 1872, of Prosector to the Zoological Society. This
appointment is one which, perhaps more than any now existing, comes
near to an ideal endowment of research.

In the view of the Council, as set forth in the Keport
issued in 1866, and cited on p. 127, morbid anatomy was to be
the chief duty of the Prosector ; so that here was quite a new
departure which has since been followed, with the result that
it has been found necessary to appoint a pathologist to do the
work for which the office of Prosector was instituted.

* In the one case the work of the bionomist, in the other that of the
systematist.

152

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

During the winter of 1878-79 W. A. Forbes acted as
deputy for Garrod, who spent that time in the South of
France, in the hope of relieving serious lung trouble. He was
appointed Prosector on Garrod's death, and took up his duties
in January, 1880.

At the close of 1871 Mr. (now Dr.) R. B. Sharpe resigned
his position as Librarian " in order to be able to devote more
time to several important works on ornithology^hich'he had

WEST END OF MIDDLE AND NORTH GARDEN, 1874.

in progress." The Council acquiesced with regret, and chose
Mr. F. H. Waterhouse as his successor. In 1871 Clarence
Bartlett was made Assistant Superintendent.

In commemoration of his valuable services as Accountant,
extending over half a century, a gold watch and chain, worth
fifty guineas, were presented to Mr. J. H. Leigh at the Anni-
versary Meeting, April 29, 1878. In the following January
Mr. Leigh died, and Mr. John Barrow, who had been his
assistant for upwards of nine years, was appointed his suc-
cessor.

The narrow strip of ground near Primrose Hill, now
known as the North Garden, was partially laid out early in

TEE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

153

1872, and the North Gate, with the adjoining lodge, com-
menced. In October the bridge that spans the canal and
connects this piece with the Middle Garden was completed ;
but the public were not admitted at the North Gate till the
Easter Monday of 1873. The land had been in the occu-
pation of the. Society since Michaelmas, 1869, and the object
of opening it was rather the provision of a convenient mode
of access to the Gardens for persons living north of Regent's

EAST END OF MIDDLE AND NORTH GARDEN, 1874.'

Park than the necessity for increased accommodation for
Menagerie stock. For some time only that part lying between
the entrance and the bridge was utilised. The brick aviaries
long occupied by owls and falcons were put up in 1874. To
provide winter quarters for two Aldabra tortoises purchased in
1875, the glass front from the old lions' dens under the Terrace
was erected, a little east of the entrance, and used as a tortoise
house till the opening of the new building in the South Garden.
Five years later more of the strip was taken in ; and the iron-
and-glass structure — now the insect house — was removed to
its present position from the South Garden, where it had done
duty as a refreshment-room. At first it served as a winter

154 THE ZOOLOQIGAL SOCIETY.

house for " some of the more delicate monkeys, birds, and
reptiles, which thrive only when kept in a continuously high
temperature."

After the opening of this strip what had been the North
became the Middle Garden. Here the construction of the
bridge necessitated the removal of an old aviary, which stood
opposite the north end of the tunnel. This must have been
one of the first buildings, for it is figured in a tail-piece in
Bennett's "Gardens and Menagerie of the Zoological Society,"
which appeared in 1830, but it then served as a squirrel cage.
Owing to the institution of the Davis Lectures, the old Picture
Gallery was fitted up as a lecture-hall, and was employed for
this purpose till 1899. In the following year the lectures were
given in the meeting- room at No. 3, Hanover Square.

One may imagine the terror that would be caused if the
animals in a menagerie should escape. Early on the morning
of October 2, 1874, A. D. Bartlett, and the assistant keepers
sleeping in the Gardens, had reason to apprehend] something of
the kind. Four barrels of gunpowder exploded on board the
barge Tilbury on the Regent's Canal, just under the bridge at
the end of Avenue Road. The shock was severely felt along
the canal bank, and fragments of the barge were afterwards
picked up by the Superintendent between his office and the
elephant house. No serious damage was done, though it was
reported to the Council that "no house had entirely escaped
injury." Large quantities of glass were broken, and frames
and sashes displaced and shattered. The western aviary in the
South Garden suffered a good deal ; some of the smaller birds
made their way out, but most of them were captured and
brought back. According to the Annual Register, "the ex-
plosion caused considerable commotion among the animals,
and their howling added considerably to the excitement which
the disaster caused in the neighbourhood." Fortunately, none
of the large animals was injured; and though they were
greatly terrified, they soon became quiet when the keepers
arrived. In the following year compensation was made by
the Grand Junction Canal Company, the owners of the barge.

The erection of the new lion house in the South Garden
was the most important work of this decade. Plans had been

New Lion House. {See p. 155.)
From the " Ilhistrated London Neics," April 1, 187(\

Plate 30.

Shifting the Carnivora. (See p. 15C.)
From the ''Illustrated London Neivs" January 29, 18V

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 155

prepared and the sanction of the Board of Works obtained
in 1869 ; but building operations were not commenced till
1875. To make room for this house the old deer sheds were
cleared away, and the contractors began their work in February.
Before the plans were made, Bartlett was sent by the Council
to inspect and report on the lion houses in Berlin, Amsterdam,
Rotterdam, Hamburg, Antwerp, and Paris ; and Dr. P. L-
Sclater, from his acquaintance with these and other Conti-
nental gardens, was able to make suggestions.

The house is a massive brick structure, of good proportions,
but without architectural adornment. It is 228 ft. long, 30 ft.
high at the central elevation, and the floor- width to the front
of the dens is 35 ft. A good yard must be deducted from this
last measurement for the protecting barrier; but this loss of
floor-space is more than balanced by the accommodation for
spectators afforded by the stepped platform on the opposite
side. There are fourteen dens, each with an inner compart-
ment or sleeping place, so that animals may be exhibited in
pairs, and separated when necessary. The six larger dens have
a floor-space of 240 square feet; in the eight smaller ones the
area is 144 square feet.

Between the dens and the barrier is a line of rails, on which
runs the meat-trolley so eagerly watched for by the great car-
nivores as feeding- time approaches. Halfway down the line^
is an arched opening leading into the service passage behind,
which extends the whole length of the building. Here are
fixed the chains and pulleys that operate the doors between
the exhibition dens and the inner compartments, so that all
the business of cleaning and shifting is done from the back.
Opposite the arched opening from the house a short passage
leads into a yard, where travelling-boxes are unloaded. Here
they can be conveniently handled, taken into the passage, and
the animals transferred to the dens through one of the inner
compartments, each of which has a sliding door.

At the beginning of 1876 the lion house was finished and
ready for occupation ; but the great beasts which were to
inhabit it were in the dens under the Terrace Walk, now

* In the following scheme of the dens, s = small, l = large, and o = arched
opening : |l|sIs|s|8|l|l|o|l|s1s|s|s|l|l|

156 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

occupied by bears and hyenas. Flitting was by no means a
simple matter; Bartlett has left it on record that numerous
suggestions and ridiculous propositions were made to him for
carrying out this interesting and, to a certain extent, dangerous
performance. " Some people," he wrote, " advised that the
animals should be chloroformed ; others that springs and chain
collars should be used, which, with a sufficient number of men
on either side, would be a most simple and easy mode of
transport ; while one other suggestion was that an iron tunnel
should be erected for them to run through."

So many applications — not a few of them from Fellows of
the Society — for permission to witness the transference of the
animals to their new quarters were received by the authorities,
that it was found necessary to give public notice that the work
would be done before the Gardens were opened.

We are requested [said the Times of January 17, 1876] to state that
such delicate operations can only be carried on when the Gardens are free
from visitors, ... It seems to have been imagined by some people that
the lions and tigers would be led out by the keepers, with chains round
their necks like house dogs, and transferred simultaneously into their new
abode in a kind of procession, with, perhaps, the superintendent at its
head to lead the way ; but such is not the established mode of procedure.

The operations began on January 15, and most of the
animals were shifted on that day, though the removal of a few
of them was not effected till the following week.

Bartlett's description is quoted from "Wild Animals in
Captivity" :

There was placed in front of the door of the cage of the lion or tiger
that was about to be removed a narrow shifting or travelling den ; no
attempt was made to force or drive the animal into this den, the door of
which was open, facing the open door of the old cage. The animal was
tempted to enter the shifting den by his food being offered to him at the
far end ; but as it was uncertain how long it would take to induce the
beast to venture into the temporary den, the men who were employed to
carry out the removal were not kept waiting until the animal thought
proper to do so, but went about their work. When the beast had made up
his mind and walked into the travelling cage, the keeper in attendance
closed the door immediately behind him, and the bell in the clock-tower
was rung as a signal to the other men that the animal had been trapped.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 157

This was necessarily a slow process; but the whole collection
was removed without the slightest injury to the men employed
or to the lower animals.

The beasts were put into their new quarters from the
front, as is shown on Plate 80. This was the easiest part
of the business, for as soon as the animal was trapped the
travelling box was loaded on a trolley and taken across to the
new building. There it was hoisted up, so as to rest on the
den floor and the barrier, with its door against the open door
of the den. When the slide of the travelling box was raised,
the animal, tired of its narrow quarters, bounded forward, only
to find retreat cut off behind. It was then passed along from
den to den by the sliding doors in the partitions till it reached
its destined abode.

Frank Buckland, in describing the operations, said he had
been told by Bartlett that the old method of shifting animals
was to set fire to some straw and thus start them, or else to
throw ropes round their necks and when they were half-
strangled drag them into the den. Curiously enough the
first-named plan was adopted in shifting two of the tigers
belonging to the Prince of Wales (now Edward YIL). They
were brought home in small cages in the Raleigh, and at Ports-
mouth it was decided to put them into larger ones before
sending them to London. " Captain Jocelyn," said a special
correspondent, " could not evacuate them into their present
more roomy cages without resorting to fireworks, after having
ineffectually tried syringes."

The following list from Land and Water (January 22,
1876) gives the Menagerie stock of large Felidce when the
house was opened, numbering the cages from the door near
the antelope house : ^

1. A Persian lion, purchased June 6, 1873.

2. Kathiawar lioness, presented January 8, 1874.

3. Indian leopard, presented August 30, 1867; Nubian lioness, pre-

sented June 19, 1873.

4. Indian leopard, presented August 30, 1867.

5. Clouded tiger, Burmah, purchased January 6, 1875.

* The list is taken from the Council's Eeport, but the writer (Frank Buck-
land) made it more valuable by showing where the animals were quartered.

168 THE ZOOLOOIGAL SOCIETY,

6. Three Mexican pumas, presented Aprils, 1872.

7. A lion and two lionesses, born in the menagerie July 8, 1872.

These are worth special notice, as they were then three
years and a half old. Though other cubs have been born since,
none has attained anything like that age."^

8. Indian tiger, presented June 28, 1870.

9. Indian tiger, presented August 4, 1865.

10. Jaguar, purchased August 5, 1875.

11. Jaguar, received in exchange November 22, 1873-

12. Three tiger-cubs, presented October 1, 1875.

13. Indian tiger, presented August 14, 1873.

14. Indian tiger, presented July 25, 1874.

Not till the spring of 1877 were the four outside cages.
finished. These stand two on each side of the yard, and the
keepers' quarters, and are 42 ft. long by 30 ft. wide, with a
height of 25 ft. — that is, quite as lofty as some eagles' aviaries, t
In the middle of the concrete floors are massive rockwork
and tree trunks. The drainage scheme — a central depression
with a pipe, sure to get choked with leaves — is far from good ;
nor are there facilities for cleaning from the outside. There
should have been a rake to the front, so that in wet weather
the water might flow ofl" to a gutter ; and the bottom bar should
have been made to lift up, to allow of the introduction of a
long-handled scraper. Indeed, the outside cages and the
arrangements for shifting the animals are of such a character
as to lend colour to the suggestion that this part of the house
was not in the original plan.

Down the passage, between the indoor and outdoor cages,
is a line of rails carrying two trolleys, on each of which is a
covered bridge — or, as it is termed in the Council's Report,
a movable tunnel — and there is a fixed tunnel at each end.
At the back of the inner compartment is a sliding door corre-
sponding to another at the back of the outside cage. When this
covered bridge is in position the doors are pushed back, and
the animal can pass out or return, as the case may be. These
outside cages were first used on April 23, and the transfer of

♦For the general question, see Proceedings, 1864, pp. 158, 159.
t In the Official Guide they are described as " enormous." Skeat's definition
of that epithet — " great beyond measure " — exactly fits the case.

Plate 31

SOME OF THE PRINCE OF WALES'S ANIMALS. (See pp. Wi, \65.)
From the '■ Illustrated London Neivs,^' May 27, 1876.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

159

the animals was made in the presence of the Council, the
Secretary, the Superintendent, a few visitors specially invited,
and representatives of the Press.

The cost of this house is returned at £11,421; but if the
expense of making new walks in connection with it be taken
into account, the total must be put at something over £12,000.
The plan has been criticised, not without reason, though it
should be remembered that the house was designed and built
before the views now held on the open-air treatment of animals
were generally accepted. Mr. Carl Hagenbeck is reported by
Captain Peel, in his " Zoological Gardens of Europe " (p. 240),
to have said that the lion house was " no good." In matters
concerning the housing of wild animals it is safer to agree with
than to dififer from Mr. Hagenbeck. Yet here one need not
take his dictum too literally. The great defect is that the
animals have not free egress into and regress from the open.
This was recognised by Dr. P. Chalmers Mitchell, in the
first edition of the Official Guide, for he wrote : " The animals
have not free access to the open air all the year round. It is
hoped that before long this will be put right, for it is now
known that lions and tigers thrive better with constant
exposure, even to the cold of winter."

In 1877 the sheep-sheds were removed from opposite the
cattle sheds to a position near the eastern boundary of the
Garden; but they were cleared away w^hen the new sea-lions'
pond was planned. The Eaffles bust was put up in the lion
house in September. This was presented by the late Kev. W. C.
Raffles Fhnt, Vicar of Sunningdale, a nephew of Sir Stamford
Raffles. Beneath it is the following inscription, recommended
by the Garden Committee :

SIR THOMAS STAMFORD RAFFLES, F.R.S.,

FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE ZOOLOGICAL

SOCIETY OF LONDON.

BORN, 1781. DIED, 1826.

160 THE ZOOLOOIOAL SOCIETY.

The bust, by E. Roscoe Mullins, is a copy of that by Chantrey,
which is now in the possession of the donor's son, Canon
Stamford Raffles Flint, of Nansawsan, Cornwall. An engraving
of the original forms the frontispiece to Lady Raffles' " Memoir."

The covered bandstand, erected in 1880, was the gift of
Mr. Charles Henry Gatty, F.Z.S., of Felbridge Park, East
Grinstead. In the south-east corner, near the reservoir, ground
was cleared for the new reptile house. The Council reported
that plans were in preparation, adding that these would require
careful study, as the subject was a difficult one, and the only
building of the kind yet attempted was that in the Jardin des
Plantes at Paris. Some small studies were erected at the back
of the Prosector's office for the use of naturalists engaged in
special investigations.

Numerous important additions were made to the Menagerie
stock in the form of species exhibited for the first time. In
1871 the anoa, the dwarf buffalo of Celebes, was introduced,
but this species has not thriven in England as it does on the
Continent, where it breeds pretty freely. Baird's tapir and the
Cape sea-lion were exhibited ; the former was a young animal,
of considerable interest in that it showed the longitudinal
striping, which is lost in mature individuals.

A hippopotamus calf was born on February 21, 1871, but
died from inanition two days later, the dam having shown no
disposition to suckle it. The skin was mounted for the British
Museum, the skeleton and viscera are preserved in the Museum
of the Royal College of Surgeons, and a plaster cast of the
cadaver, made and presented to the Society by Frank Buck-
land, is still to be seen in the giraffe house.

Two rhinoceroses were purchased in 1872, both at first
believed to be of the Sumatran form. One, for which Jamrach
was paid £1,250, was obtained in Chittagong in 1868. The
story of her capture is thus told in Sterndale's " Mammals of
India":

She had got into a quicksand, and had exhausted herself by floundering
about. The natives contrived to attach two ropes to her, and, hauling her
out, managed to make her fast to a tree. Next morning they found her so
refreshed and vigorous that they were afraid to do anything more to her,
and so sent messengers to the magistrate of Chittagong to report the

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 161

capture. The same evening Captain Hood and Mr. Wickes started with
eight elephants to secure the prize, and after a march of sixteen hours to
the south of Chittagong they came up to the animal. The elephants at
first sight bolted, but were brought back by considerable exertion, and
the rhinoceros was made fast to one by a rope. The poor creature roared
with fright and a second stampede ensued, in which luckily the rope
slipped oft the leg of the rhinoceros, to which it was attached. Ultimately
she was secured between two elephants and marched into Chittagong,
where she soon got very tame. Eventually she was sent to England.

This animal was afterwards made the type of a distinct
species,"^ and is entered under the name "hairy-eared rhino-
ceros" in the Vertebrate List of 1896 (the last published),
but it is now regarded as only a well-marked variety of
the Sumatran rhinoceros.

These important additions overshadowed the rest. The
crested screamer must, however, be named, for this species
bred in the Great Aviary in 1904, which, so far as can be ascer-
tained, is the first record in captivity. The Beatrix antelope
is also entered as an introduction ; but the a in the Vertebrate
List distinguishing this individual is a manifest error for 6,
since Gray's type was the animal presented by Captain
Shepherd in 1856 (see p. 117).

Two hippopotamus calves were bom. The first came into
the world on January 6, and was at once removed from the
mother, which was kept at a safe distance by a well-directed
stream of water from a garden-engine. In this dangerous
business Bartlett had the help of his son Clarence and the
keepers Arthur Thomson (now the Assistant Superintendent)
and Michael Prescot. " Placed in a warm room," said Bartlett
in his notes, " on a soft bed of hay, and covered with a blanket,
it seemed to revive. Two goats supplied it with plenty of
warm milk, which it readily sucked from a large feeding
bottle in sufficient quantity, which caused me to think that I
should be able to save its life." His anticipations, however,
were not realised ; the calf died on January 10.

Soon after this alterations were made in the house, so as
to afford ready access to the female in the case of a third calf

* Proceedings, 1872, pp. 185, 493, pi. xxiii. and p. 790 ; Transactions, ix. 652,
pi. xcviii.

162 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

being born, in order that the young one might be taken away
at once and brought up by hand. On November 5 the third
birth occurred, but fortunately there was no necessity for the
removal of the calf The dam took to it at once ; and, as
Frank Buckland put it, the calf had more sense than its
brother and sister, for it almost immediately discovered and
made use of its mother's milk. At the monthly meeting on
November 21 the Secretary announced that the calf was
thriving and the dam was becoming less savage and excitable
when approached, and that it was hoped to exhibit the little
one to the Fellows and their friends on the following Sunday.

The king colobus, the white-thighed colobus, and the
rock-hopper penguin were introduced in 1873, and in 1874 the
Javan or Sondaic rhinoceros was exhibited for the first time.
This small representative of the Indian rhinoceros was probably,
at that time, the only individual of the species in Europe. An
uncoloured plate, from a drawing of this animal by Wolf, was
issued with the Council's Report.

In August, 1875, a half-grown female American manatee
was purchased. This was the first living specimen exhibited
in England; it was obtained on the coast of Demarara, and
was three weeks on the passage to this country, during which
time it was in a big swinging tank specially constructed for
the purpose. On September 7 it died ; but Garrod studied it
closely, and described the curious action of the lip-pads, the
structure of which had been investigated by his predecessor.
The upper Hp is cleft into two pads; these can be separated
so as to leave a considerable gap, and then brought together
to grasp food, which is introduced into the mouth by the
backward motion of their margins.

Other important additions were a pair of giant tortoises,
originally from Aldabra, which had long been kept in cap-
tivity in the Seychelles. The male was said to have lived
there for upwards of seventy years. These reptiles appear to
have been the largest imported up to that time ; the length of
the male was given at 4 ft. and the width at 3 ft. ; the weight
was estimated at 800 lb. The hamadryad, or king cobra,
was introduced this year.

A strange accident, about which there is some mystery.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 168

happened to Alice, the African elephant, on Bank Holiday,
August 2, 1875. On the Occurrence Sheet, under the heading
*' Animals Unwell," it is thus recorded :

The female African elephant was chained by the leg as usual this
morning, and about 8.50 am. she made a loud noise, and upon the man
going to her it was found she had torn off the end of her trunk ; the
wound was bleeding, but soon stopped. She would not allow it to be
touched, and she seemed in great pain, twisting about in the wildest
manner.

Public attention was called to the unfortunate affair by a
letter signed "A Fellow," which appeared in the Daily
Telegraph of August 4. After a general indictment — far too
sweeping to be well founded — the writer stated that there had
recently been a change of keepers in the elephant house, and
the new men thought that Alice was not sufficiently broken
in. " Accordingly they set to work to break her in after their
own fashion. On Monday morning last they tied her up with
ropes and left her. Soon a terrible screaming and trumpeting
was heard, and it was discovered that — somehow or other —
Alice's trunk was torn off."

The following comment appeared in a leading article on
Friday morning :

Our correspondent writes guardedly, but he obviously wishes the public
to infer that the elephant had been tied up by her trunk to the bars of her
cage ; and it is certainly hard to see how the accident could have happened
in any other way.

Coincidently with this the following paragraph appeared
in the Times. It is apparently intended to be an explanation,
for it gives details not supplied on the Occurrence Sheet or in
Bartlett's book^:

The female African elephant, being very fidgety and restless, is
usually tethered by a ring round one of her fore feet to the corner of her
stall while the house is being cleaned out in the morning. On Monday,
about half-past 8 a.m., the keepers were alarmed by the elephant calling
out suddenly as if in great pain, and on running to the spot found that she
had actually torn off the top of her trunk. It seems that she had thrust
the end of her trunk underneath the ring by which her foot was confined,
and then by pulling against the ring with her foot hurt her trunk. This
caused her to exert such force in the attempt to withdraw her trunk that

* " Wild Animals in Captivity," pp. 51-3.

164

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

the end of this organ was torn off in the effort. For some time after this
extraordinary event the elephant was in great pain and very uneasy. She
has now begun to feed again, and seems likely to recover the use of her
trunk, as the wound has not inflamed much and is gradually healing over.

A letter from Dr. Sclater complaining of the "unfounded
calumny against tlie two keepers in charge of the animal " was
published in the Times of June 6. After an assurance that the
account of the accident in the issue of the preceding day was
correct, Dr. Sclater continued : " I shall have the pleasure of
reporting to the Council at their next meeting that no blame
is attributable to the keepers in reference to this singular
occurrence. The keepers were not, it is true, actually present
when the event occurred, but were only a few yards off."

It was, in truth, a " singular occurrence." It must be
pointed out that the Secretary was not writing from his own
knowledge. His explanation is, however, no more convincing
than are the sweeping charges of " A Fellow."

The animals brought home by the Prince of Wales (now
Edward VII.) arrived in May, 1876, in charge of Clarence
Bartlett, who served in the capacity of taxidermist and collector
during the Prince's Indian tour. There were in the collection
deposited by the Prince in the care of the Society 151 speci-
mens, of which 65 were mammals and 86 birds. The following
is the official report from Dr. Sclater's Guide of 1876 :

2 Green Monkeys

2 Rhesus Monkeys

5 Tigers

7 Leopards

1 Cheetah

1 Viverrine Cat

1 Indian Civet

Mammals.

4 Tailless Dogs

3 Tibetan Mastiffs
2 White Dogs

2 Indian White Dogs
1 Himalayan Bear
1 Sloth Bear

4 Indian Elephants

2 Musk Deer

6 Domestic Sheep
2 Thar Goats
4 Shawls Goats
8 Indian Antelopes
2 Zebus

2 Spotted Porcine Deer

3 Axis Deer

The only species new to the Society's collection appears to
be the lesser porcine deer, if indeed that form deserves specific
rank. Dr. Sclater remarked, in his report, that no specimens
had previously reached this country.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 166

Birds.

1 Grey- winged Blackbird I 2 Hill Francolins

2 Wedge-tailed Pigeons I 4 Chukar Partridges
5 Domestic Pigeons 15 Impeyau Pheasants

8 Surah Doves
1 Black Francolin

21 Cheer Pheasants
2 Pucras Pheasants

4 White-crested Kalij
3 Bankiva Jungle Fowl

10 Horned Tragopans

5 Indian Peafowl
3 Ostriches

With the exception of the two young elephants, Suffa
Ciilli ( $ ) and Jung Pershad {$), which came up by road,
the animals were brought by train from Portsmouth. Unfor-
tunately, a Cashmere deer was lost on the journey, and the
carcase was found on the line about a mile from the starting
place. The tarpaulin covering of an open box had been
unfastened — it is supposed, by some person wishing to look at
the animal — and the deer, alarmed by the flapping, jumped
out and broke its neck on the line.

The animals were exhibited for some months in a reception
tent on the waste ground near the reptile house, and were in-
spected by Queen Victoria, the Prince and Princess of Wales, and
other members of the Royal Family. The hunting trophies,
among which were sixteen tiger skins, were displayed in the
lecture-room, and shown to the public, early in 1877. Two
tigers, two leopards, an elephant (SufFa Culli, still living in the
Gardens), two antelopes, and two tragopans were presented to
the Society by the Prince. Jung Pershad remained in the
elephant house, on deposit, till its death in 1896. It is needless
to say that the collection was a very great attraction, and the
number of visitors made 1876 the record year.

The other elephants, Omar and Rostom, remained at
Regent's Park till 1882, when they were presented to the
Zoological Garden at Berlin. On Easter Tuesday, 1879, the
latter upset and trod on a keeper, who had been in the service
of the Society nearly fifty years. At the inquest there was
some suggestion that the elephant knelt on the man,"^ but
this "was not made quite clear." Bartlett "thought it was
possible that some mischievous person or persons had touched
the elephant from behind with a stick or umbrella, causing the
elephant to suddenly step forward and upset Goss, but there

* Land and Water, May 17, 1879.

166 THE ZOOLOOIOAL SOCIETY.

was no actual evidence to prove that anybody had touched the
elephant." The jury agreed that it was "a case of pure
accident."

The East African buffalo was introduced in 1877, and a
number of gelada baboons were deposited by Carl Hagenbeck,
by whom they had been exhibited at the Alexandra Palace.
A white-cheeked gibbon was also received, but this was the
second specimen, as a young one was exhibited in 1840. Up
to this time these two appear to be the only examples to reach
Europe alive.

In 1878 the brown mouse lemur, Smith's dwarf lemur, the
isabelline bear, and the equine antelope were shown for the
first time. More important, from a menagerie point of view,
was the purchase for £800 of a young male hippopotamus,
born in the Amsterdam Gardens, and about two years old. A
correspondent of a daily paper in describing a visit to the
Gardens at Christmas, mentions what appears to be a Siberian
tiger, though the List throws no light on the matter. He seems
to have derived his information from Bartlett, and says that
this animal, which he calls " the hairy tiger," is found " in cold
and snow districts, and has a much longer and more wool-like
coat than the tigers from the hot districts of India." ^ In the
following year the mitred monkey, the red-faced saki, the
Japanese goat-antelope, the mule deer, and the horned parra-
keet were introduced. A pair of these birds, from New Cale-
donia, were purchased ; on account of their extreme rarity —
for there were few skins at that time even in the principal
museums — a plate representing the species was given in the
Council's Report. Obaysch, the male hippopotamus presented
in 1850 by the Viceroy of Egypt, died on March 11. No traces
of organic disease were found. Bartlett t attributed the death
" to pure old age." The animal was only thirty years old, and
this has been exceeded by Guy Fawkes, bom November 5,
1872, now in its thirty-fourth year.

A fight took place in the lion house, on October 26, between
two tigers that had been paired up. The female struck her
claw through the cartilaginous division of the nose of the

* Dailt/ News, December 27, 1878.

t " Wild Animals in Captivity," p. 77.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 167

male, who retaliated by rolling her over, and having adminis-
tered some rough punishment walked away. She rushed after
him, and bit him on the thigh ; on this he seized her by the
throat, inflicting a bad wound. Eventually Sutton managed to
separate the animals and get them, one after the other, into
separate sleeping dens at the back. On the Saturday following
(November 1) the tigress was reported, in Land and Water,
to be in a fair way for recovery. The growling caused a good
deal of excitement among the other animals, and a French-
man who was in the house at the time wrote to Frank Buck-
land, that, " to quiet them," he adopted the following measures :
" I ran up and down ; I agitated my hat ; I waved my hand-
kerchief to disturb them ; but they were agitated by so strong
anger, that my efforts were of little effect."

The Prince of Wales was a generous donor in the last year
of the decade, for he presented to the Society two thars, two
wild boars, six Himalayan monauls, three horned tragopans,
a Temminck's tragopan, and a spotted turtle dove. Among
the introductions were the koala, or native bear of Australia,
which had long been a desideratum, the Tcheli monkey, and
the tufted umbre, a curious African bird, the hammerkop
(hammerhead) of Cape Colony. This example, purchased of
a Liverpool dealer, seems to have been the first to reach
Europe alive, though skins and skeletons were to be found in
museums in this country and on the Continent.

When the reptile house was opened, in 1849, there appeared
in the Athenceum of December 15 a letter of protest against
the practice of feeding the serpents in public. It does not
seem to have met with support, for the subject attracted little
notice till 1876, when the Editor of the Animal World drew
Dr. Sclater's attention to the matter. Soon after letters and
articles appeared in the public Press, and some of the writers
were not content with trying to put a stop to a practice which
had nothing to recommend it, but charged the Society with
encouraging cruelty and " pandering to public brutality." One
essayist, in the Whitehall Review (April 27, 1878), protested
against " the Cawnpore Massacre enacted diurnally," and headed
his article, " Sepoyism at the Zoo." In 1880 there was some
correspondence in the columns of the Times on the subject.

168 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

This gave Dr. Sclater an opportunity of publishing the regu-
lations which had been in force for many years:

At 5 p.m. on Fridays the doors of the reptile house are closed, and a
notice is put up outside stating that " This house is closed for the purpose
of feeding the reptiles." After that time no one is admitted unless he
applies specially for the purpose and states that he wishes to see the
reptiles fed.

One leading article suggested that the feeding "should be
done, as the stage Medea, according to the precept of Horace,
was instructed to slay her children, behind the scenes." In
this way the difficulty was got over. A few months later the
Garden Committee recommended that the reptiles should be
fed at times when the grounds were not open to the public.
This was accepted by the Council, and since April 20, 1881,
has been the rule.

In 1877 the freehold of the Society's house, No. 11, Hanover
Square, and of the house at the back, facing Oxford Street,
was purchased. A new storey was added in 1879 to provide
additional accommodation for the Library. A room on the
second floor was assigned to readers, while the upper storey
was reserved for additions. Nearly £2,500 was expended
during this decade in the purchase of standard zoological
works. In 1874 Mr. Bryan Hodgson, formerly resident at the
Court of Nepal, presented a fine collection of original drawings
of the mammals and birds of India ; and Colonel Tickell pre-
sented an original illustrated manuscript work, in several folio
volumes, containing memoirs on the mammals, birds, reptiles,
fishes, crustaceans, and butterflies and moths of India. Both
donors were elected honorary Fellows, the former in 1874 and
the latter in 1875, when the same compliment was paid to the
Sultan of Zanzibar for his donations to the Menagerie, and to
the Hon. Ashley Eden for help aflorded to the Society when
he was Commissioner in Burmah.

On June 7, 1876, the Society's Gold Medal was presented to
the Prince of Wales, at Marlborough House, in " acknowledg-
ment of his many valuable donations to the Menagerie, and
other services." The presentation was made to the Prince
in person by a deputation — consisting of the President (Lord
Tweed dale), the Vice-Presidents, and the Secretary — which

PLATE IX.

THE BROAD WALK, WITH ELEPHANTS.

(See p. 192.)

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOOIETY. 169

was most graciously received. Four silver medals were
awarded in this decade. The recipients were : in 1872, A. D.
Bartlett (Superintendent from August 15, 1859, till his death,
May 7, 1897), for his services to the Society, and in commemo-
ration of the successful rearing of the young hippopotamus,
born November 5, 1872 ; the Sultan of Zanzibar, in 1875, in
acknowledgment of his donations of African animals ; in 1877,
Mr. Robert Hudson, in recognition of his valuable services as a
member of Council ; and, in 1878, Colonel Sir F. R Pollock, in
return for donations to the Society's Menagerie. For their
services in connection with the rearing of the young hippo-
potamus, Michael Prescot and Arthur Thomson, keepers,
received the bronze medal, when the silver one was awarded
to the Superintendent.

Up to and including the year 1873 the interest of the
Davis bequest was applied in aid of the publication of the
"Zoological Record."^ For the rest of the decade it was
devoted to " popular lectures on zoology." The lecturers were
Messrs. Leith Adams, Carpenter, Clark, Flower, W. A. Forbes,
Garrod, Reay Greene, Harting, Huxley, Mivart Murie, Kitchen
Parker, Pye-Smith, Sclater, Bowdler Sharpe, and Tegetmeier.
Huxley's series, in 1878, on Crustaceous Animals and their
Organisation, was the most important.

The subjects were interesting, and the lecturers men of
eminence. But the experiment was not a success, for, generally
speaking, the treatment seems to have been more fitted for
classes of professional students than a general audience. In
noticing the introductory lecture by Dr. Sclater, the Echo
(April 15, 1874) said :

The beasts did not personally attend, as some of the junior portion of
the audience obviously expected, and their feelings would have been hurt
had they done so to find themselves constantly described as *' specimens "
of their respective classes and species, without any attempt at those per-
sonal sketches of character and biography to which many of them might,
not unreasonably, have aspired. Even the lamented Joe was referred to
as " an Anthropoid Ape " of the '* species Chimpanzee," and the afi'ecting

* This annual summary of the work done by naturalists all over the world was
originally published by Van Voorst in 1864. In 1871 it was taken over by the
Zoological Record Association, who carried it on till 1886, when the Society
assumed the responsibility, and acquired the whole of the back stock.

170

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

narrative of his last moments, given by a contemporary, was trivially
touched upon as "sensational."

Admitting that this is not delicately put, it seems, never-
theless, to hit the mark, and may be justified, ex post facto,
by a quotation from an abstract of Dr. Sclater's address on
Waterfowl, given in Nature (July 20, 1880) :

Of the whole number of 174 generally recognised species of Anatidae,
77 may, I think, be best set down as Arctic, although some of them, such
as Tadoma rutila, Fuligula rufina, and Marmaronetta angustirostris,
cannot be strictly so termed, as they inhabit only the temperate portions
of the Palaearctic region. Very many of the Paljearctic species also, as
will be noted below, go far south in winter, and intrude into the JEthio-
pian, Indian, and Neotropical regions.

A grant of £100 was made in 1874 in aid of Dr. Anton
Dohm's Zoological Station at Naples ; in view " of the benefits
likely to accrue to zoological science from its establishment;
and, secondly, in the expectation that valuable acquisitions to
the Society's fish house (which the Council hope shortly to
see rebuilt on a much more extended scale) would ultimately
be received by means of this Institution.

Dr. Dohrn had close relations with many English natu-
ralists, and carried out some of his early investigations at
Millport, on the Clyde, the home of David Robertson, with whom
he became very intimate. In the " Naturalist of Cumbrae " —
the story of the life of David Robertson — the Rev. T. R. R.
Stebbing said (p. 190), when speaking of the Naples station,
"one might be almost justified in considering that Millport
stands to it in the unassuming relation of a fairy godmother."

The second edition of the Library Catalogue, published in
1872, contained the titles of about 2,100 works; and the third
edition, issued in 1880, made the total 2,300.

The fifth edition of the Vertebrate List appeared in 1872,
the sixth in 1877, and the seventh in 1879. The number of
species catalogued were 1,826, 2,143, and 2,325 respectively.
In 1872 the "Index" to the Proceedings (1861-1870) was
published.

The number of papers presented at the Scientific Meetings
increased, and this was of course reflected in the augmented
size of the volumes of Proceedings.

THE ZOOLOQIOAL SOCIETY. l7l

Among the contributions of general interest are those by
Bartlett on the breeding of the hippopotamus in the Gardens
and the birth of a Sumatran rhinoceros on board the s.s. Orchis
in the Victoria Docks. The dam had been consigned to Mr.
Rice, and the arrival of the calf was unexpected. The author
compared it to a young ass, on account " of its long legs and
general mode of moving its large, long head and meagre-
looking body." By lifting, he estimated the weight at 50 lb. ;
the height is given as 2 ft. at the shoulder, and the total
length at 3 ft. It was unfortunate that the calf lived but a
few days, for thus a good opportunity of watching the growth,
development of the teeth, and other interesting matters was
lost. Another contribution of his described the moult in
Humboldt's penguin; and in this paper occurs the oft-
quoted description of the scaly wing-feathers flaking off like
the skin of a serpent. Sir Victor Brooke's communications
dealt with antelopes and deer; and those of D'Albertis
described his travels in New Guinea and some of the results.
Dobson's papers were chiefly on bats, those of Mr. H. E. Dresser
on European birds, and of Flower on cetaceans. The pro-
sectorial memoirs of Forbes and Garrod were for the most
part anatomical and systematic. Godman alone, and in con-
junction with Osbert Salvin, contributed some important papers
on the Butterflies of Central America. The latter collaborated
with Dr. Sclater on the Birds of Central and South America.

About a dozen papers by Mr. W. H. Hudson treat of the
smaller mammals and the birds of the Argentine Republic,
and some of this material has since been made available for
the general public in his charming books on La Plata and
Patagonia. Huxley contributed six papers ; that on the Classi-
flcation and Distribution of the Crayfishes was expanded into
the well-known text-book in the International Science Series.
Lord Lilford did something to settle the question as to the
position in which the flamingo sits on her eggs. Professor
Newton's papers were principally ornithological; and those of
Owen and Kitchen Parker abstracts of their memoirs in the
Transactions. Mr. Howard Saunders was chiefly concerned
with skuas, gulls, and terns; and an important statistical
paper by Max Schmidt on the Duration of Life of the Animals

172 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

in the Zoological Garden at Frankfort-on-the-Main should
not be overlooked.

Dr. Sclater's contributions were very numerous ; probably
the most important were those on the birds obtained by the
Challenger Expedition. In one of his exhibitions he made
some addition to the knowledge of Wombwell's gorilla, first
referred to by J. E. Gray (see p. 146). He showed two photo-
graphs of Ealkenstein's gorilla,-^ which the Berlin Aquarium
had purchased for 10,000 marks, and the chalk drawing by
Wolf of Wombwell's gorilla, that now hangs in the meeting-
room. In connection with this anthropoid he read the following
note from Bartlett :

In the year 1861 I saw, in the collection of the late Mr. Charles
Waterton, a mounted specimen of a young gorilla.t It had been prepared
from an individual that had been exhibited alive in the No. 1 Collection
of Wombwell's travelling menagerie, where it had lived upwards of seven
months.

Although Waterton called this animal a chimpanzee, his
description J is sufficiently exact to enable anyone at the
present day to decide that it was really a gorilla. He refers to
the protuberant abdomen, the small ears, and the prominent
flat nose, " as if some officious midwife had pressed it down
with her finger and thumb at the hour of Jenny's birth."

At the time of the Du Chaillu controversy, in 1861, a letter
from "A Missionary" appeared in the Morning Advertiser of
October 1. The following passage is of interest, not only as
bearing on Wombwell's gorilla, but as showing how the African
anthropoids are procured for menagerie purposes:

I have had several young or half-grovi^n gorilla {sic) alive at d liferent
times on my premises, where they were allowed great liberty, following the
person about who fed them just as the young chimpanzee does. Indeed,
I see very little difference in the habits and disposition of the two animals,
and I think this is proved by the fact that five years ago I sent a young

•This was the Pongo exhibited at the Westminster Aquarium.

t At "Waterton's death, in 1865, this went, with the rest of his collection, to
Ushaw College. The author is indebted to the Be v. Joseph Broadhead, Procurator
of that College, for the information that the whole collection was sent, about
twenty years ago, to Alston Hall, near Preston, the seat of the Mercers, relatives
of the Watertons.

X "Essays on Natural History," 3rd Series, pp. 63-67.

Photo: Cassell & Co., Ltd.

ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY'S HEADQUARTERS, HANOVER SQUARE. (5eep. 194.)
Plate 34.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 173

gorilla to England. It arrived at Liverpool alive, and the dealer who
bought it would have it that it was only a black chimpanzee, and under
that name it was shown in WombwelFs menagerie in diflferent parts of
England. A friend tells me he saw it at Scarborough, and that it died
there, and was sent to Mr. Waterton's, at Walton Hall, near Wakefield,
where the skin is now preserved, and thus anyone can satisfy himself that
it is a gorilla, and not a black chimpanzee, as the dealer called it.

Seebohm presented some of the results of his visits to the
Petchora and Yenesei. Dr. Bowdler Sharpe contributed about
thirty papers on birds, and the President, Lord Tweeddale,
about twenty.

The seventh volume of the Transactions, published in 1872,
contained sixteen memoirs, which included three on Dinornis,
and one on the Dodo, by Owen ; two by Murie on the Pinni-
pedia, and the important paper on the Lemuroidea by Murie
and Mivart. In 1874 the eighth volume appeared, with the
same number of contributions ; among these were two by Lord
Walden on the Birds of Celebes; others ^on Dinornis and the
Osteology of the Marsupialia, by Owen; two on Cetaceans, by
Flower ; a continuation of Murie's researches on the Anatomy
of the Pinnipedia, and a paper by the same author on the
Manatee. Three years later the ninth volume was pubhshed ;
this contained twelve papers, including one by Lord Walden on
the Birds of the Philippines ; one by Leith Adams on Maltese
Fossil Elephants ; a section of Owen's memoir on Dinornis
and one of the Osteology of the Marsupialia; the first part
of Kitchen Parker's treatise on ^githognathous Birds, and
papers by the Secretary on Curassows Tand the Rhinoceroses
now or lately living in the Society's Gardens.

In the last-mentioned paper Dr. Sclater relates the story
of Jim, the great Indian rhinoceros, tearing off his horn :

The male and female having been placed in adjoining yards, the former
made frequent attempts to raise the lower transverse bar of the massive
railing that separates the two enclosures by placing his horn under it.
After repeating these attempts several times, in spitej of the interference
of the keepers, his efforts were such that the horn became suddenly
detached under the violent pressure to which it*was subjected, and rolled
off into the yard. The animal appeared to be " much hurt, and roared
lustily for a few minutes. There was a considerable loss of blood from
the wound, which, however, healed in a few days, '^neat's foot oil being
applied to it to keep off the flies.

174

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

It was suggested that malformed horns due to injuries had
led to the creation of species, afterwards found to be invaUd.

Dr. Sclater also recorded the fact that in 1874 Jamrach
imported a young rhinoceros from Calcutta, said to have been
obtained in the Munipore district. It was offered to the
Society, but after examining the animal, and being confirmed
by the opinions of Bartlett and Garrod, he came to the con-
clusion that it was a young Sondaic rhinoceros. The animal
was afterwards purchased for the Berlin Garden, and Dr.
Peters carefully examined and quite agreed with the identifi-
cation. The author added in a note : " This conclusion did not
please Mr. Jamrach, who in October, 1874, printed an account
of the supposed new species on a sheet of green paper, and
proposed to call it R. jamrachii*

The tenth volume, published in 1879, contained sixteen
papers, among which was the last of Owen's series on Dinornis ;
Mivart dealt with the Axial Skeleton of Struthious Birds, and
of the Pelecanidm ; Parker with the Skull of ^githognathous
Birds, and Bay Lankester with the Hearts of Ceratodus,
Protopterus, and Chimcera ; and Garrod described the Manatee.

Exhibited for the

First Time.

Breeding Species.

Year.

Mammals.

Birds.

Reptiles.

Total.

Mammals.

Birds.

Reptiles.

Total.

1871

1872

—

1873

1874

—

1875

1876

1877

1878

1879

1880

* This instance of a* describer naming an animal after himself is not, as one
would naturally imagine, unique, or, indeed, the first of its kind. Gordon
Gumming described an East African form of the bushbuck, and with what the
authors of the "Book of Antelopes" call "characteristic audacity," named it
after himself. He shot a "princely old buck," and ** christened him the ' Antelopus
Toualeynei,' or ' Bushbuck of the Limpopo.' " Gordon Cumming's first name was
Koualeyn.

THE ZOOLOGIGAL SOCIETY.
Animals in the Menagerie.

175

Year.

Mammals.

Birds.

Reptiles.

Total.

1871

590

1,227

255

2,072

1872

573

1,208

229

2,010

1873

592

1,329

266

2,187

1874

751

1,243

128

2,122

1875

626

1,340

239

2,205

1876

637

1,405

223

2,265

1877

667

1,357

176

2,200

1878

640

1,314

224

2,178

1879

548

1,334

1,955

1880

703

1,438

231

2,372

Fellowship Roll, Visitors, and Finance.

Ypar

No. of

Admissions to

Income.

Expenditure.

Fellows.

Gardens.

1871

3,047

595,917

24,620

22,037

1872

3,050

648,088

26,728

26,900

1873

3,173

713,046

28,099

27,667

1874

3,197

706,907

28,417

25,577

1875

3,241

699,918

28,738

31,667

1876

3,311

915,764*

34,955

31,635

1877

3,358

781,377

30,988

29,002

1878

3,416

706,713

27,944

27,266

1879

3,364

643,000

26,463

25,146

1880

3,309

675,979

27,388

26,579

* In this year the Indian collection of the Prince of "Wales (now King
Edward VII.) was exhibited.

176

CHAPTER YIII.

1881-1890.

Changes in the personnel were few in this decade. The most
important was the appointment, in January, 1884, of Mr. F. E.
Beddard as Prosector, that office having become vacant by the
death of W. A. Forbes in the preceding year. There is no
reference to this event in the published Report, for which
reason part of the obituary notice in the Ibis (1883, pp.
384-392) may be quoted:

In July, 1882, he left England on what promised to be a splendid
opportunity of visiting the Eastern tropics with every advantage and
without much risk. Detained at Shonga (a station some 400 miles up the
Niger below Rebba) by the breaking down of his communications, Mr.
Forbes fell a victim to dysentery on January 14 last, thus adding
another name to the martyrs of science* in that
deservedly dreaded climate.

In 1889 Mr. Benjamin Misselbrook, who had been for more
than sixty years in the service of the Society, and for about a
third of that time had filled the responsible post of head-keeper,
retired on pension. Mr. Arthur Thomson, the son of a former
head-keeper, was appointed to succeed him.

Just as the Society, in 1849, opened the first reptile house
in connection with a zoological garden, and in 1853 the first
aquarium, so now, in 1881, the first systematic attempt was
made to form a collection of living insects for exhibition. The
iron-and-glass building used as an insect house was removed to
its present position from the South Garden, where it had formed
part of the refreshment-room. The cases were arranged on
stands round the building, and on tables in the centre, and the
general plan with regard to their disposition was much the same
as it is now. The specimens were well labelled, and preserved

*The Continental practice of recording on simple memorial tablets, in museums
and similar institutions, the names of officers -who have " died on the field of
honour in the cause of science " is worthy of imitation in this country. The
formula quoted is that used in the Museums in the Jar din des Plantes.

TEE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 177

specimens of the different stages of metamorphosis were shown
in a box over the principal cases. One feature, somewhat
neglected of late years, was the development of aquatic insects,
as exemplified in dragon-fly larvae and caddis- worms.

The most important insects from an economic point of
view were, of course, the various silk moths ; but it is worth
recording that one case contained plants infested with green-fl3%
with which were exhibited the larvae of the common ladybird
— the natural enemies of the fly, " which they seize with much
the same habit as a dog would a rat."

For the first year the house was under the charge of
Mr. William Watkins, who prepared the Guide, and in 1882 it
was taken over by Mr. Arthur Thomson, described by Dr. Sclater
as "one of the Superintendent's principal Assistants," whose
valuable aid in the preparation of the second (and last) edition
of the Guide-Book was acknowledged. Early in the year Mr.
Thomson presented a report on the work, and exhibited the
more important insects reared or presented.

The reserve shed for duplicates and stock requiring seclusion
was built in 1882 at the rear of the cattle sheds ; and at the
end of the fish house — for so the Aquarium was now called —
the tank was put up to show the movements of diving birds
(such as auks, guillemots, and penguins) under water. On
account of diminishing receipts from the Gardens there had
been some idea of postponing the works for the new reptile
house; but as the admissions increased in 1882, the contract
was signed in August and the building commenced. In the
Middle Garden shelter was provided for the kangaroos by fixing
a glass roof to the sheds opposite the lecture hall.

In August, 1883, the reptile house was completed, stocked,
and opened to the public. The building is 160 ft. long by 60 ft
wide, and has keepers' rooms at the rear, and in front a porch
with an entrance at each end. In this porch, in movable cages
are kept lizards, toads, and frogs that do not need a high
temperature. Three sides of the hall are fitted with large glass-
fronted cages carried on a slate platform which forms a chamber
for the hot-water pipes, so that the heat is confined, as far as
possible, to the cages. The glass fronts are fixed, and the only
access for feeding or cleaning is by a sHding door worked from

178 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

the keepers' passage at the back, to which the public are not
admitted. On the south side are movable glass cages, on
stands, for small lizards and snakes, and recently an inner row
of terraria for frogs and toads has been added. In the centre is
a large oval tank, about 25 ft. in the longer and 12 ft. in the
shorter diameter, for large crocodiles and alligators, with one,
less ample, on each side, for smaller aquatic reptiles.

The general plan of distribution is that the large cages on
the north side are occupied by boas and pythons, and the
smaller ones at the east and west end by the innocuous and
venomous serpents respectively. Some of the larger lizards,
however, are often exhibited in these cages.

As may be imagined, the operation of shifting the reptiles
was not easy, but it was fortunately effected without any
mishap to man or beast. The larger serpents and crocodiles
were secured, not without difficulty, in stout canvas bags, and
so carried from the old house to the new. More caution was
necessary with the venomous snakes, which were boxed up
before they were removed from the cages in the old house.
This obviated all risk during transport across the Gardens.
The box was deposited in the new cage, and the experienced
keepers soon transferred the reptiles to stronger and more
roomy quarters.

On January 17, 1884, Messrs. Barnum, Bailey and Hutchinson
deposited a male Burmese elephant, described in the " List of
Additions " as of the " mottled variety," which the owners said
was a sacred white elephant. People flocked to the Gardens to
see it ; the admissions on Monday, January 21, were returned at
6,594, the average for Monday at that time of the year being
about 700. One regrettable incident was the introduction by
the owners of some natives, said, incorrectly, to be Burmese
priests. Of these the Times of January 28 remarked that
the "title priest might be used in their case with some such
modifications as attach to the white of the elephant." Their
pretensions were exposed by Professor T. W. Rhys David, and
their performances came to an end.

At the Anniversary Meeting the Council reported that the
reptile house seemed to answer its purpose in every way, and
afforded great facilities for the examination by the public of the

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 179

reptiles which had been very inconveniently lodged in the old
wooden building. They appealed to the crowds that visited
the house every day, and to the increased Garden receipts, as
proofs that the house was appreciated.

The burrhel sheep yard — a circular enclosure with a rocky
elevation in the middle — was constructed in 1885. The shelters
covered with rockwork, simulating their natural haunts, were
well suited to the habits of these mountain sheep, which breed
regularly. Owing to the success of this method it has been
followed in making similar enclosures for Earbary sheep and
mouflon. It is, perhaps, to be regretted that the Continental
plan of one large enclosure, divided into yards, dominated by
a central "ruin" on broken ground, has not been adopted.
From a spectacular point of view, such combined yards are
very successful. Those in Dtisseldorf and Frankfort-on-the-
Main may be a little too much like set-scenes ; but the same
objection really lies against this method of exhibition, whether
on a small or large scale. Once get over the incongruity of a
stony outcrop from the London Clay of the Park, there is no
reason why it should not take the form of a miniature mountain
range, crowned with a picturesque ruin. There is a very good
example of this kind in the Rotterdam Garden, where chamois,
wild sheep and goats, and llamas are kept on the slopes of
an artificial mountain, from the crest of which there rises a
graceful tower.*

In this year also the old reptile house was fitted up with
cages " suitable for the exhibition of the smaller Cats and
allied Carnivora." Consequently from this period dates the
name " Small Cats' House," by which the building was known
till 1904. By using the house in this way the Council were
enabled to realise, to some extent, a plan which had always
been considered desirable — the separation of carnivorous
animals from the rodents and other frugivorous mammals
hitherto kept together in the small mammals' house.

* It may be suggested that English naturalists scarcely live up to their oppor-
tunities in the matter of visiting Continental Gardens. One may see a good deal,
even in a week-end. It is not difficult to get as far as Diisseldorf and Cologne, and
quite easy to see the Gardens at Antwerp, Rotterdam, and Amsterdam between
Friday night and Monday morning. The Harwich route has many advantages,
and Rundreise tickets are not expensive.

180

TEE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

Something more was done in this way in 1887 by the
erection of the dog kennels or wolves* and foxes' dens, on
the southern boundary of the Gardens. In the centre are four
large dens (12 ft. by 11 ft.), and in each wing five smaller ones
(8 ft. by 10 ft.). The following is a list of the stock in the
possession of the Society at the Anniversary Meeting in 1888 :

3 Wolves

1 Black Wolf

4 Common Foxes
3 Arctic Foxes

1 Sumatran Wild Dog

2 Common Jackals

1 Indian Desert Fox

2 North African Jackals
2 Side-striped Jackals

2 Black-backed Jackals

1 Pale Fennec Fox

1 Silver-backed Fox

3 Prairie Wolves

3 Red Foxes

1 Kit Fox

1 Virginian Fox

1 Azara's Fox

2 Rough Foxes

1 Red-footed Fox ; and
1 Dingo

The New Aviary, or Night Herons' Pond, was formed on
the Waterfowls' Lawn in front of the Eastern Aviary. It is
105 ft. long by 62 ft. broad, and the sloping sides, of galvanised
wire, rise to a height of 27 ft. in the centre. The object was
to enclose a space so large and high that the birds might
exercise the power of flight, lead a more natural life, and
indulge their habits better than in an aviary of the ordinary
kind. It contained a large pond, for which smaller ones have
since been substituted ; the trees were left, and shrubs and
brush planted. The birds were not put in till June ; neverthe-
less, pairs of the straw-necked and Bernier's ibis nested and
successfully reared their respective broods.

In 1888, when Spiers and Pond took over the contract for
the supply of refreshments, the main building was painted,
repaired, and decorated. In view of "the financial economy
necessary " no new buildings were added. Additions were made
to the money-takers' lodges at the north entrance in 1889, and
this terminated the constructive work of the decade.

The white-nosed saki, a rare South American monkey, was
introduced in 1881. The tjrpe specimen in the Paris Museum
remained unique in Europe from 1848 till this animal was
brought to the Gardens. The goral antelope, the rubiginous
cat, and the gemul deer deserve mention. Several birds were

THE ZOOLOGIOAL SOCIETY. 181

added to the list, including the twelve-wired and red bird of
paradise, the green manucode, the Indian darter, and Germain's
poljplectron.

Next year four pygmy hogs were purchased. This species
was described by Bryan Hodgson,"^ as " about the size of a large
hare, and extremely resembling a young pig of the ordinary wild
kind of about a month old, except in its dark and unstriped
pelage." These curious animals are found in the sal forests of
the Sikkim and Nepal Terai. Their hue is blackish brown,
" shaded vaguely with dirty amber or rusty red." There is some
resemblance to the peccary, apparently in disposition as well as
in shape. They go in herds, and the males fearlessly attack
intruders, " charging and cutting the naked legs of their human
or other attackers with a speed that baffles the eyesight,
and a spirit which their straight sharp laniaries render really
perplexing, if not dangerous."

The heloderm lizard — the Gila Monster of the Mexicans —
presented by Lord Avebury (then Sir John Lubbock) appeared
for the first time on the list. Experiments showed that the
bite was fatal to guinea-pigs. t Sir Joseph Fayrer suggested that
" the saliva contained a higher quantity of active principle than
that of other lizards, and that all saliva contained a trace of this
principle which was so intensely active in the cobra and viper."

Coquerel's mouse-lemur was also exhibited for the first time,
and among the birds new to the collection were the rifle-bird,
the radiated fruit-cuckoo, with gait and actions resembling those
of a gallinaceous bird, a jackass penguin, and a cock and two
hens of Elliot's pheasant.

Sally, the famous chimpanzee, was purchased in 1880, and
lived nearly eight years in the Gardens, establishing a record for

* Journal Asiatic Society of Bengal^ May, 1847, pp. 423-28. Garson's paper
{Proceedings, 1883, pp. 413-418) went to show that Hodgson's supposed generic
characters did not exist.

t Dr. J. Fischer was quoted by Mr. Boulenger at the meeting of November 14
as authority for the statement that a gentleman was bitten by one of these lizards,
and *' the effects were of a very serious character." Mr. W. T. Hornaday, in his
"American Natural History " (p. 335), records the fact that Mr. A. Z. Schindler was
bitten by a Gila Monster, at the United States National Museum, but apart from a
very natural degree of irritation and soreness of the wound he experienced no
permanent ill-effects.

182 THE ZOOLOOIGAL SOCIETY.

longevity among anthropoids. It has been claimed that this
was exceeded by Messrs. Barnum and Bailey's Johanna"^; but
the evidence is not satisfactory.

The Somah wild ass and the hairy-fronted muntjac were
exhibited for the first time in 1884; and both were described
and named by the Secretary as being new to science. Mr. E.
Lort Phillips had shot, in Berberah, an ass of large size — " our
Berberah horses looked quite small in comparison" — agreeing
in all points with the new form — the French grey colour,
absence of shoulder-stripe, small ears and flowing mane, and
black bands on the legs.

The more important birds new to the collection shown this
year were the African cormorant, the Nepalese hornbill, the
banded gymnogene, purple barbet, and blue snow-goose.

Among the mammals exhibited for the first time in 1885
were the Siamese gibbon, according to Dr. H. 0. Forbes only
a geographical race of the agile gibbon, one of the early
acquisitions of the Society; the "pleasant" antelope, and the
pale fennec fox. Among the birds were the brown pelican,
wattled starling, striated coly, Gouldian finch, and black-
browed albatross, from the Cape.

The beautiful lesser koodoo was introduced in 1886. This
was the male of a pair imported in 1884 from Somaliland by
Carl Hagenbeck, and sold to M. Cornely of Tours. That
gentleman, having lost the female, parted with the survivor
to the Society. Another important addition was the bald
ouakari, which unfortunately lived but a few months.

A young male gorilla was received from Cross of Liverpool
(a descendant of Edward Cross of Exeter 'Change) on October
10, 1887, and purchased later. At the scientific meeting of
November 15 Dr. Sclater said that the animal appeared to be
about three years old, and its height was 2 ft. 6 in. It was placed
in a compartment adjoining that of Sally, the bald chimpanzee,
affording an opportunity for comparing these two anthropoids.

The following is quoted from Bartlett's account of the
animal in Land and Water (October 22, 1887, p. 342) :

On arrival the poor beast appeared to be completely exhausted and
almost lifeless— no doubt partly from exposure to the cold and the

* Proceedings, 1899, p. 297. Field, Nov. 19 (p. 908), Nov. 26 (p. 950), 1904.

THE ZOOLOGIGAL SOCIETY. 183

shaking and noise of the railway journey. In this condition no one could
be expected to offer to purchase the animal; in fact, the owner could
not ask any one to take it, however low the price he might ask ; all he
asked was that it might be attended to, and that whatever could be done
to save it should be done.

With careful attention the animal revived, and was fed on
fruit and bread. It improved in strength and temper, and
when the account was written had made friends with the
keeper (Mansbridge, now in the anthropoid house).

The gorilla attracted a good deal of attention, and
attained the distinction of being portrayed in Punch, From
a description in the Illustrated London News of November 12,
it appears that it was not lively, and preferred to remain in
the travelling-box, which stood in one corner of the compart-
ment. A young macaque monkey was put in for company,
but the gorilla took no notice of it. The animal died on
December 9, and the body was sold to the Royal College of
Surgeons.

The first example of the Samango monkey — extending
across South Africa, from Mozambique to Angola — was received
in 1888, as was the Indian small-clawed otter. The more
important birds introduced were the Prince of Wales's
pheasant — a new species from the confines of Northern
Afghanistan and Persia ; the spotted hawk eagle, from
Northern India; and a Sclater's penguin, from the Auckland
Islands. The new pheasant is a beautiful bird, spangled with
bright purplish black on a rich golden-red ground, and the
white wing-coverts stand out in strong contrast to the dark
flight feathers.

Sir Cecil C. Smith, Governor of the Straits Settlement,
presented a young gaur in 1889. This appears to be the first
example of this Oriental wild ox received alive in Europe, and
the donor was elected an Honorary Member in recognition of
the value of his gift.

Very important additions were made in 1890. Mr. J. A.
NicoUs presented a young female Selous's antelope, the first
example to reach Europe alive. The animal was captured in
the marshes north of Lake Ngami by Mr. Nicolls and his
companions, who took it down to Mafeking, a distance of 750

184 THE ZOOLOOIGAL SOCIETY.

miles, by waggon, and thence it was brought to this country
by rail and steamer. The chief Moremi gave Mr. Nicolls a
cow and two goats " for a milk supply for the little animal."
The story of the hunting expedition was told by Mr. Nicolls
in the Field (February 22, March 1, and March 8, 1890).

White park cattle were shown for the first time this year.
Lord Ferrers presented a young bull from the Chartley herd,
and Mr. G. W. Duff Assheton-Smith sent a cow from Vaynol.
The nagor antelope and the waterbuck were also introduced :
for the former the Society was indebted to Dr. Percy Kendall
and for the latter to Mr. G. S. Mackenzie. A fossa, the rare
carnivore from Madagascar, forming a link between the cats
and the civets, was purchased — the first seen alive in England,
though examples had been exhibited on the Continent.
Nothing is known of its habits, except that it carries off kids
and goats, and fights with desperation when wounded. The
Chinese alligator was also exhibited for the first time, two
examples having been presented by Mr. D. C. Janson, of
Shanghai. Great interest attaches to these reptiles, as this is
the only instance of the occurrence of an alligator in the Old
World ; and there is reason to believe that from it was derived
the myth of the Chinese dragon.*

A young beisa antelope was born in 1881 — probably the
first instance of this species breeding in captivity ; a nose-
horned viper produced forty-six young, and though few of
them long survived, the large number at a birth was set down
in the Report, as remarkable and worthy of record. In 1882
a gayal bull calf was born, the produce from a fine pair
received in the previous October from the Calcutta Gardens ;
no earher record of this species having bred in Europe is
known. Dr. Bauer sent home in 1883 three babirusas ($ $ $ ) ;
a young one was born shortly before the vessel reached
England, and came to the Gardens with the dam. This little
pig was of great interest, showing that, unlike the young of
other wild pigs, those of this species are unstriped.t A
young one was born in the Gardens in 1884. The pygmy

* Swinhoe, in FrdceedinffSy 1870, p. 410; Leyland, in Magazine of Art, 1891,
pp. 369-372.

f Froeeedings, 1883, pi. xlvii.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 185

hogs produced young in 1883, and each succeeding year till
1886.

A greater Vasa parrot died in 1884, apparently of old age ; it
had been fifty-four years in the Gardens. The next year the
Society lost a Sumatran and a Javan rhinoceros. The note-
worthy deaths in 1886 were a male hippopotamus, born in
the Amsterdam Gardens in 1876, which had been in the
Menagerie nearly nine years ; a giraffe, purchased in 1874 ; and
a West African python, that had been in the collection twenty-
three years. In 1888 a Sumatran rhinoceros, one of a pair
purchased in 1875, died; a condor, purchased in 1856, died
in 1889 ; and the death in 1890 of a crane bred in the
Gardens in 1863 is worth mention.

The event that attracted most attention from the general
public during this decade was the sale of Jumbo, the great
African elephant, to Barnum. The facts of the case were
simple; yet the motives of the President, Council, and Sec-
retary seem to have been misunderstood, and many of the
articles on the subject did small credit to the wisdom of a
section of the newspaper Press.

In 1881 Jumbo developed dangerous tendencies and did
a great deal of damage to the house, rendering necessary
the setting up of stout timber buttresses, more than once
destroyed. Those last erected are still in position. There was,
however, at times — worse than this — the disposition to attack
persons. Bartlett's own words should carry conviction as to
the danger of keeping the animal in the Gardens :

Finding that he, at the end of this period, was likely to do some
fatal mischief, I made an application to the Council to be supplied
with a sufficiently powerful rifle in the event of finding it necessary to
kill him.*

It may be well to give the Superintendent's Keport on the
subject in full ; for although it was published in the Times of
March 9, 1882, it is not generally known :

I have for some time past felt very uncomfortable with reference to
this fine animal, now quite, or nearly quite, adult, and my fear of him is
also entertained by all the keepers except Matthew Scott, who is the only

• " Wild Animals in Captivity," p. 49.

186 TEE ZOOLOGIOAL SOCIETY.

man in the Gardens who dare enter this animars den alone.* I have no
doubt whatever that the animal's condition has at times been such that
he would kill anyone (except Scott) who would venture alone into his den,
but up to the present time Scott has had, and still has, the animal perfectly
and completely under his control. How long this state of things may
continue it is quite impossible to say. At the same time, I consider that
the matter is of so serious a nature that I feel called upon to draw the
attention of the Council to the subject, for in the event of illness or
accident to the keeper (Scott) I fear I should have to ask permission to
destroy the animal, as no other keeper would undertake the management
of this fine but dangerous beast.

In conclusion, I may ask that I should be provided with, and have
ready at hand, the means of killing this animal should such a necessity
arise. ^ A. D. Bartlett.

December 14, 1881.

No administrative body could disregard such an application
from a man of Bartlett's experience. The rifle Avas supplied ;
but the necessity for its use was obviated by Barnum's enquiry
if the elephant was for sale, and, if so, at what price. On
being consulted, the Council asked £2,000, and Bartlett,
knowing the difficulty of boxing Jumbo, added the condition
"as he stands." Barnum accepted by telegraph. The Times
of January 25 contained an announcement of the purchase,
and thus commented on the condition : " To those who know
the size, weight, and strength of this ponderous creature (cer-
tainly the largest elephant in Europe), the undertaking is one
of serious difficulty, and not unattended with some danger."
But there was still greater danger in keeping Jumbo, and
there are men in the Society's service who know how grave
that danger was.t

The preparation of the box in which Jumbo was to be
shipped took nearly a month. It was brought to the Gardens
on February 17, and Barnum's agents tried ineffectually to
get him to enter. Then the opposition, active among a small
section of the Fellows and the general public, and passive, as
it would appear from Bartlett's notes, in the Gardens, mani-

* It is said, no doubt with truth, that there were tunes when Scott did not
care to go in.

+ The case of Neff, a keeper in the Jardin des Plantes, who was killed in
August, 1905, by an elephant of which he had had charge for a quarter of a
century, shows how dangerous these great animals are when they *'go mad."

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 187

fested itself. The Council were charged with selling the
animal to fill the coffers of the Society, and their conduct
was compared to that of American slave-dealers. Said one
leader-writer :

When the bid arrived the Council was in session, Professor Flower in
the chair, and Dr. Sclater ready to record the bargain. The scene
reminds us of Mr. Selby disposing of Uncle Tom. . . . When a Southern
slave owner put in force his legal right of separating a family at the
auction block the world rang with anathemas against the inhumanity of
the deed. Surely to tear this aged brute from a home to which he is
attached, and from associates who have so markedly displayed their
affection for him, is scarcely less cruel.

Another writer dwelt on the "almost human distress of
the poor animal at the attempted separation of him from his
home and his family." This note was sustained in other
quarters, and it became the fashion to write of Alice as
" Jumbo's little wife " — no doubt on account of the baseless
rumour that she was in calf. A similar story, equally un-
founded, was told of another elephant. In the Times of
February 4, the "interesting announcement" was made, on
the authority of Land and Water, that " one of the young
Indian elephants is shortly expected to be the mother of the
first elephant ever known to be born in Europe — at any rate,
in modern times."

On February 21 Dr. Sclater published a temperate state-
ment of the case, which was inserted in the leading morning
papers. It set forth the facts that " male elephants, when
they arrive at the adult stage, are periodically liable to fits of
uncertain temper," and that " the risk of an outbreak on the
part of so huge and powerful an animal in the much fre-
quented Gardens of the Society was not one which should be
lightly run." One would think this would be held to justify
the declaration that " the Council would not have consented
to part with the animal unless satisfactory reasons for so doing
had been placed before them by the responsible executive of
the Gardens." Some of the Fellows thought it did not.

The Council, however, had their supporters. A letter from
" A. B." was printed in the Times of February 23. He said that

188 THE ZOOLOOIOAL SOCIETY.

ho had visited the Zoo^ rather frequently of late, and noticed
that Jumbo's temper was not so good as it used to be. He
clearly recognised that the animal was a possible source of
danger, not only to the keepers, but to the public ; and stated
the case plainly : " If he were suddenly to get cross some day
when a number of children were present some accident might
happen. I venture to think the authorities have acted with
discretion in parting with him."

Mr. W. B. Tegetmeier dealt with the subject in the Field of
February 25. With a fuller knowledge of the facts than any
other journalist possessed, he described the risk of keeping the
animal, concluding thus :

The statements that have been made respecting the human emotions
manifested by the animal are mainly imaginary. The simple explanation
of his behaviour is that he became alarmed at the new conditions under
which he was placed, and consequently refused to move.

Had Jumbo been so docile and obedient as to take his departure quietly,
but little would have been said on the subject. Old public favourite as he
was, the announcement of his sale, which was published in the daily papers
a month ago, and the paragraphs which subsequently appeared relative to
the preparation for shipment, may have elicited a few passing words of
regret, but no public protest was thought of.f

No sooner, however, does the sensational writer t adorn the facts and
give to the subject a fictitious interest by endowing Jumbo with human
attributes than the kindly feelings of the public are aroused and angry
remonstrances evoked against his supposed oppressors. All honour to

* This is an early instance of the use of this inelegant contraction without
inverted commas. In the Daili/ Telegraph of April 18, 1876, the following sentence
occurs : " Easter Monday is always a great day at the * Zoo,' as it is now the
fashion to call it." The form was, as everybody knows, adopted from a music-hall
song made popular by Vance in 1867. By a strange anachronism it occurs in the
" Life of Owen," whence it would seem as if what purport to be quotations from
Mrs. Owen's Diary are not given in the exact words of the diarist. " Zoo " has
also found its way into colloquial German. In the ** Tagebuch einer Verlorenen "
(Berlin, 1905, p. 230) one meets with this sentence: "Wir beschlossen, den
Abend zusammen im Zoo zue ssen."

t There was no expression of disapproval of the sale on the part of any Fellow
at the monthly meeting of February 16.

X It would not be difficult to dot the i's and cross the t's in this sentence. Mr.
Tegetmeier has not mentioned the " writer " by name— for the allusion is to a
person, not a class — nor will the author take the responsibility of doing so. The
only remark he permits himself is, that the sensation was not, as is generally
believed, created in the interests of Barnum, whose agents adroitly turned it to
profitable account.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY, 189

those who would prevent a wrong being done. Unfortunately, however,
they simply had their feelings played upon ; the wrong existed only in
their imagination— the danger was real.

Mr. Henry C. Burdett made a public appeal early in March
for contributions to a Zoological Society Defence Fund, of which
Mr. Berkeley Hill was treasurer. On March 6 an application
was made in the Chancery Division to Mr. Justice Chitty on
behalf of the last-named gentleman and some other Fellows for
an injunction to restrain the President and Council from selling
Jumbo, on the ground that they had no authority to do so, for
the Royal Charter limited their powers to the acquisition of
animals for the purposes of the Society. An interim injunction
was granted, with the proviso that it was not to prevent the
boxing of the animal.

Subsequently the evidence of Dr. Sclater, Bartlett, and
Davis, Barnum's agent, was taken. The officials of the
Society emphasised the danger of keeping the elephant. Davis
agreed; but added that "it would not be dangerous to exhibit
him under their system of management, which was quite
different from that of the Society, and would not be allowed in
this country."

Farini threw some light on the American " system of
management " in an interview with a representative of the
Graphic, which appeared in the issue of October 14, 1893.
Having described how Jumbo lay down outside the Gardens,
and the profit Barnum made out of the purchase, Farini
continued :

You know old Jumbo was so pleased with himself over that piece of
business that he must needs try to repeat it when he got to the States.
He refused to go into the specially-constructed railway car we had made
for him— wouldn't be coaxed in. There was Wood,* his English keeper,
saying, " Now, come along, Jumbo ! " (patting his trunk) ; " come along
in, old man!" Not he. But he was a fine elephant, the tallest I ever
saw. Wouldn't budge. So at last Arstingstall, who was looking on, got
tired. " Oh, blame all this British coaxing," says he ; " he's in America
now." And Arstingstall, he passes a chain round Jumbos buttocks, and
takes the two ends through the car, and through the opening on the
opposite side, where they were fastened on to an old she-elephant.

Still old Jumbo cocks his old head up, he was a tall elephant, and

* This should, of course, he Scott.

190 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

won't go in. So Arstingstall puts two elephants behind him and a man
on top of the car. Then he gave the word. The old she-elephant
started to pull, and the two other elephants to butt Jumbo from behind.
The man on the top of the car fetched him a blow over the head with a
crowbar. Jumbo ducked, and he shot into the car like a sack of coals.
He never wanted any more coaxing.

Mr. Justice Chitty delivered judgment on March 8, and is
thus reported in the Times of the following day :

The result of the evidence was that it was a fair question for the
Council whether they would keep Jumbo, or would run the risk of his
becoming dangerous. If he granted the injunction he should be taking the
management out of the hands of the Society, which he did not intend to
do. If, after the report of Mr. Bartlett, the animal should become
dangerous, and injure any of the public the Society would be liable. It
was impossible for a court of justice to say the Council had not exercised
their powers reasonably. The result was that the motion failed, and as he
thought there was no ground for it he must refuse it with costs.

Even this weighty judgment failed to put an end to the
agitation. Public meetings were held and communications sent
to the Press, with the view of influencing the Council. Wild
assertions were made about the value of Jumbo, and the
Governing Body was accused of neglect of duty in allowing
what was termed " a unique specimen " to leave the country.
The height of absurdity was reached in a letter to the Times of
March 16, in which the animal was compared to perhaps the
most important of the sacred manuscripts:

The trustees of the British Museum have an express power to
dispose of duplicates and other useless or superfluous books. But if
they sold the " Codex Alexandrinus " or any other precious volume to
the injury of the library, would not a Court interfere 1

At the monthly general meeting on the following day
Mr. Berkeley Hill and Mr. H. C. Burdett disclaimed all feeling
of hostility towards the Council and the executive officers.
Professor Huxley, the Hon. S. Gathorne Hardy, and Dr.
GUnther strongly supported the action of the Council.
The President (Professor Flower) is reported as having
" animadverted in strong terms upon the bad motives attri-
buted by certain writers in the newspapers, and still more by
the senders of anonymous communications, to the Council."

PLATE X.

THE TORTOISE HOUSE.

(See p. 203.)

TEE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

191

A vote of thanks to the Governing Body for their action in
this matter was proposed and seconded ; but though " a very
large majority of the crowded meeting 'appeared to be in its
favour,"* the President ruled that it was out of order, owing
to the fact that previous notice had not been given.

Considerable difficulty was experienced in boxing the
elephant. The St. James s Gazette of September 20, 1892,
published the result of an interview with a '■' Mr. Gaylord, who
was with Barnum when Jumbo was bought." This gentleman
is reported as having said that " Scott had a quiet sign which
the elephant knew to mean ' Lie down.' It was arranged
that when he was to be taken from the Gardens Scott should
make this signal, and the people would believe that Jumbo
was unwilling to leave Alice." In this interview the state-
ment was made that Barnum " gave £1,000 to raise an action
to endeavour to interdict the departure of Jumbo."

Bartlett, in telling the story of the removal,t says it was
imagined that the difficulty " was caused by the unwillingness of
Scott, the keeper, to exert himself in the command he had over
the animal ; in fact, it was generally suspected that he was
obstructing the work of removal, and that his effort to box
the elephant was a sham." Newman was asked if he would
undertake the business, provided Scott were sent away for a
holiday. This he was quite ready to do. Bartlett then told
Scott of the suggested arrangement, and of Barnum's liberal
offer, if he would go to America with the elephant. The rest
deserves quotation:

Scott immediately begged me not to carry out my intention of giving
him a holiday, stating that if I would only give him another day he would
do his best to induce Jumbo to enter his box. To this I agreed, and on
the following morning Jumbo was safely housed.

This was on March 23 ; and it was past midnight before the
trolley with the box moved out of the Gardens. The crowd
waiting outside raised cheers for Scott, and shouted that the
Yankees should never have Jumbo. About 7 a.m. on
Thursday morning St. Katherine's Docks were reached, and the
box was put on a barge for Millwall. Here, it is recorded,

* Dailt/ News, March 17, 1882.

t ** Wild Animals in Captivity," pp. 49-51.

192 THE ZOOLOOIOAL SOCIETY.

Jumbo breakfasted, and was " treated afterwards to a copious
draught of beer by a lady who had followed him all the way
from the Zoological Gardens, and now took a mournful farewell
of him." The box was shipped on Friday on board the Eastern
Monarch, which sailed on the following day.

After May 1 riding tickets were introduced. Previously
there had been no fixed charge for rides on elephants and
camels ; people gave the keepers a tip, and the Society was not
benefited. Twopence each was charged for the tickets, but the
price was soon reduced to a penny for a camel-ride. By
December 31 £305 had been received under this regulation,
which still works well, and a portion of the money is divided
among the keepers concerned. The Broad Walk in the
South Garden, on a fine afternoon when the elephants are
carrying, presents an animated scene.

The monthly business meeting was held on June 22, at
the Marlborough Booms, Begent Street, as affording greater
accommodation than the Society's meeting room. Circulars
had been issued, and there was a good deal of feeling on
the subject. Mr. Burdett's proposal to alter the bye-laws
so as to make any ordinary meeting special on giving
seven days' notice, and to limit the power of the Council in
selling animals, was defeated after a long discussion. An
amendment to the effect that the meeting did not consider
it desirable to interfere with the discretion of the Council on
the questions raised by Mr. Burdett was then put as a sub-
stantive motion, and carried without a division. Since that
time, however, the list of animals for sale has been laid on
the table at business meetings.

On the suggestion of one of the Fellows, the Council
decided to celebrate the Jubilee of Queen Victoria, on June 16,
1887, by holding the monthly meeting in the Gardens. After
the formal business, the Silver Medal was presented to the
Maharajah of Kuch-Behar in acknowledgment of His High-
ness's valuable donations to the Menagerie. The President
then delivered an address, sketching briefly the history of
the Society."^ Incidentally, though not in express terms,

* Printed as an Appendix to the Council's Report, and included in Flower's
"Essays on Museums and other Subjects."

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 193

Professor Flower showed that the appointment of a paid
Secretary was abundantly justified:

There was a period, it is true, in which the Gardens fell rather low in
popular favour, the record of 1847 showing both the smallest number of
visitors and the lowest income of any year in the Society's existence. A
new era of activity in the management of the Society's affairs was then,
happily, inaugurated, which resulted in a prosperity which has continued
ever since, with only slight fluctuations, arising from causes easy to
be understood.

The President and Council then held a reception, which
was well attended by the Fellows and the friends specially
invited ; and the function was a great success. In commenting
on it the World said in its next issue :

If these pleasant parties could be held occasionally with a " regular
periodicity," they would do much to revive the fallen fortunes of the now
unsocial Zoo. The gathering of Thursday was an extremely agreeable
one. Professor and Mrs. Flower, Mr. Sclater, and Mr. Bartlett were
indefatigable.

The last poultry show was held on the vacant ground at the
west end of the North Garden in September (11-13), 1889. It
was organised by Mr. Alexander Comyns, but though there
were nearly 1,400 entries, the attendance was small.

In the Report issued in 1890 the Council stated that they
had received frequent applications for information as to "how
the animals were fed." Consequently they added a table,
giving a list of the provender and the quantities supplied for
each year of the decade 1880-1889. No particulars as to cost
were given. A casual examination of the table may possibly
prompt the enquiry why the quantities of three of the items
remained constant during the whole period, though the number
of animals varied. Yet 313 gallons of shrimps, 7,512 fowls'
heads, and 3 tons 18 cwt. of potatoes are set down in each of
the ten columns.

Reference has already been made to the presentation of the
Silver Medal to the Maharajah of Kuch-Behar. In 1882 the
same distinction was conferred on Dr. John Dean Caton ; in
1884 on the Rev. George H. R. Fisk ; and in 1889 on Dr.
Edward Dalzel Dickson. These gentlemen were Corresponding
Members, who had sent valuable donations to the Menagerie.

194 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

More accommodation was needed for the oflficial work of
the Society than No. 11, Hanover Square afforded. Various
expedients were suggested to overcome the difl&culty. That
which found most favour was that the premises in Oxford
Street, purchased in 1877 and formerly leased to Purdey, the
gunmaker, should be utilised and a new meeting-room built.
A special committee of the Council was appointed to deal with
the question, and they reported that the relief would be only
temporary. Consequently these premises were disposed of,
and the freehold of No. 3, Hanover Square was purchased for
£16,250. The Society took possession in the autumn of 1883;
but the house was in a bad condition, and an expenditure of
nearly £10,000 was required for repairs and fittings. In 1884
the Anthropological Institute became tenants of the Society.

The Anniversary Meeting of 1884 was held in the new
offices, the advantages of which were appreciated by the
Fellows present. It was officially stated that when No. 11,
Hanover Square was taken in 1843, the income of the Society
was £9,137,"^ and when the occupancy terminated, in 1883,
it had more than trebled, being £28,966. In 1885 a Scientific
Meeting here was the subject of a clever sketch in Punch.

The offices of the Prosector were repaired and enlarged in
1881, and the increased accommodation was soon utilised.
A long- vacation class of four students from Cambridge worked
there on the comparative anatomy of the Mammalia, under the
supervision of Mr. Lister, and the Pathological Society formed
a committee for the study of comparative pathology in the
Gardens. In view of what was advanced on p. 127 as to the
original intention of the Council in establishing the prosector-
ship, the following remarks in their Keport for 1881 on the
work of the Pathological Committee are of interest:

Their investigations promise to be of great scientific interest and value,
not only to pathologists, but also to the officers of the Society, as affording-
better indications than have hitherto been obtained of the various morbid
causes affecting the animals in the Society's menagerie.

♦ It fell to £7,765 m 1847, the last year of Ogilby's secretaryship. In 1859,
■when W. D. Mitchell, the first paid secretary, resigned, it stood at £14,034, and in
1902, the last year of Dr. Sclater's secretaryship, at £29,077. Thus, the first paid
Secretary nearly, and the second more than, doubled the income of the Society during^
their terms of office. It would be pleasant if this progression were continued.

iMir"

nrniii

IIHIHPIIir^lUII

Plioto: Cassell £ Co., Ltd.

Plate 39.

JENNY THE GORILLA. (See ^7. 207.)

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 195

Later a good deal of pathological material was handed over
to Mr. J. Bland Sutton, and his results were published in the
Proceedings. Some, illustrating the diseases of teeth, went to
the Dental Museum.

Grants were made to the Zoological Record Association
in 1886 ; the Society undertook the publication, and Mr.
F. E. Beddard, the Prosector, was appointed editor. In the
same year the sum of £100 was granted in aid of the estab-
lishment of the new Laboratory of the Marine Biological Asso-
ciation at Plymouth. This was opened by the President on
June 30, 1888. Mr. Cornish said, in his " Life of Sir William
Flower" (pp. 164, 165):

Huxley was too unwell to preside, and in his absence Flower took
his place, and as Vice-President of the Marine Biological Association,
delivered the opening address. After pointing out that Professor Huxley-
was the pioneer in urging support for the study of marine life, he referred
to the enormous importance of the subject both to science and economics
in a country which has 2,000 miles of coast.

Professor Ray Lankester was the Honorary Secretary of the
Association, which owes quite as much to his advocacy as to
Huxley. The chief concern of the Zoological Society with
the Association is, that under Professor Lankester's influence
bionomic observation and experiment were to be, and are,
among the chief objects of its laboratory work.

The Davis lectures were continued year by year, and the
following gentlemen were Davis lecturers for varying periods :
Messrs. Beddard, JefFery Bell, Boyd Dawkins, Martin Duncan
Flower, Forbes, Harting, E. Ray Lankester, Mivart, Kitchen
Parker, Romanes, Sclater, Seebohm, and Bowdler Sharpe. It
cannot be said that the lectures were a success. Even the
President, in his Jubilee Address, admitted the fact. " I must,
however, confess," he said, " that the interest taken by the
Society generally in these lectures has not quite equalled the
expectations that were raised when the question of establishing
them was first brought before the notice of the Council."

There seems, nevertheless, to have been a belief in some
quarters that really popular lectures by competent men would
be well attended. " Why not, for example," said a writer in the
Daily Telegraph (May 13, 1890), " have special daily lectures for

19« THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

children, and even adults, on the ways and habits of the various
prisoners of the Society ? " And the probable results were thus
summed up:

Experts in zoology, perhaps, few would ever become, but the true
stories of animals would certainly arouse greater interest in their
existence and make plainer the marvellous ways and means of Nature,
while instilling into many children that love, kindness, and forbearance
towards even the humblest of God's creatures, which shall in after life
make them better men and women. Lastly, the development of some such
idea as has been imperfectly set out would unquestionably increase the
popularity and at the same time the finances of the Zoological Society.
Can it not be given a trial?

The eighth edition of the Vertebrate List was published in
1883, and contained the names of 2,557 species — 667 mammals,
1,447 birds, 307 reptiles, 48 batrachians, and 88 fishes.

A supplement to the third edition of the Library Catalogue
appeared in 1883 ; this contained about a thousand titles, raising
the total to more than 4,000. By the Anniversary Meeting of
1884 the whole collection had been transferred to the present
library, reclassified and arranged. In the following year the
books were, valued at £12,000. The fourth edition of the
Catalogue was brought out in 1887, and the titles had then
risen to a little over 6,500. In 1888 Mme. Cornely, widow of
M. J. M. Cornely of Tours, an old and valued Corresponding
Member, bequeathed to the Society her husband's zoological
library. This consisted of about 840 volumes, of which 256
were new to the Society's library, and many of the books thus
acquired were rare and difficult to obtain by purchase. In
1889 the Council voted £25 towards the expenses of publish-
ing a very useful little volume — " Index Generum Avium " —
compiled by Mr. F. H. Waterhouse, the Librarian. This list of
the genera and sub-genera of birds, established since the days of
Linnaeus, was aptly described in the Keport as a " laborious
piece of scientific work."

Nearly twelve hundred communications were made to the
Scientific Meetings of this decade, all of which appeared, in full
or in abstract, in the Proceedings. Bartlett sent five papers,
of which by far the most important is that on Some Bovine
Animals bred in the Society's Gardens, in the volume for 1884.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOOIETY. 197

It dealt with some remarkable hybrids, of which the table below
gives the pedigree:

Zebu (^— T— Gayal ?

A. Hybrid $ (Zebu S x Gayal ?) Bison ^

Bom Oct. 29, 1868

B. Hybrid $ (Zebu <$ x Gayal ? x Bison cj) Bison ^

Born May 21, 1881

C. Hybrid 9 ... (Zebu (^ x Gayal ? x Bison ^ x Bison ^)
Born March 12, 1884.

That is, the last hybrid was of one- eighth zebu and one-
eighth gayal blood and three-quarters bison, so that the state-
ment that the calf was " undistinguishable from a pure-bred
bison of the same age " causes no surprise. To a zebu bull the
hybrid A. produced four other calves, of three-quarters zebu
and quarter gayal blood, but with these nothing appears to
have been done ; nor were further experiments encouraged. In
commenting on the omission of the authorities to turn the
collection to practical account, Mr. W. B. Tegetmeier wrote in
the Field of January 14, 1899 :

It is greatly to be regretted that we have not in England, in the
Zoological Gardens or elsewhere, any place where experiments or observa-
tions on the valuable results that might attend the hybridisation of our
domestic animals might be studied. Mr. Bartlett's hybrid bovines should
have been utilised. There is no doubt that in the hands of a successful
breeder, they might, under some conditions or circumstances, have greatly
tended to the improvement of our domestic cattle.

In the volume for 1885 Bartlett's paper on Sally, the famous
chimpanzee, appeared. This dealt with her physical character
and her fondness for animal food; her mental qualities were
discussed by Romanes in a paper in the volume for 1899.

Of the prosectorial papers forty-six were contributed by
Mr. F. E. Beddard and twenty-four by W. A. Forbes ; from Mr.
J. Bland Sutton came several pathological papers of interest.
That on the Diseases of Monkeys opens with the following
important passage :

When a "generally received opinion" is made the subject [of careful
investigation, it not infrequently turns out to be erroneous. So with

198 THE ZOOLOGIOAL SOCIETY.

regard to the diseases of monkeys living in this country. The general
public hold the belief, endorsed by the medical profession, that nearly all
the monkeys brought to England die from tuberculosis. After careful
examination, I fail to find any reasonable excuse for so widely spread
an error.

Mr. Blaauw described the development of the horns in the
white-tailed gnu ; these weapons, so strangely curved in the
adult, are at first quite straight. The contributions of Mr.
Jeffery Bell, Mr. Boulenger, Dr. GUnther, Mr. Bowdler Sharpe,
and Mr. Oldfield Thomas were chiefly systematic. Emin Pasha
sent some interesting letters ; one reports the occurrence of a
striped hyena in East Africa, which has recently been confirmed
by Herr Schillings. Flower's papers were concerned chiefly
with cetaceans ; and those of Howes were, of course, anatomical.
Sir Harry Johnston treated of the fauna of Kilima-njaro, Pro-
fessor E. Ray Lankester of the heart of the duck-billed platypus
and spiny anteater, and here appeared Mivart's classification of
the cat-like and bear-like carnivores. Dr. P. Chalmers Mitchell,
the present Secretary, read his first paper — a description of an
ingenious graphic formula to express geographical distribution —
in 1890 ; Mr. R. I. Pocock, the Superintendent, preceded him
by three years with a report on the Crustacea collected by the
officers of H.M.S. Flying -fish. In 1887 Professor Poulton's great
paper on the Protective Value of Colour and Markings in
Insects appeared.

Two volumes of Transactions were published in the decade.
The eleventh, which came out in 1885, contained nineteen
memoirs. Among these were Flower's contribution on Two
British Dolphins, Forbes's on the Sumatran Rhinoceros and
on the Californian Sea-lion, and Garrod's on the Brain
of the Hippopotamus; Professor E. Ray Lankester's memoir
treated of the Muscles and Internal Skeleton of the King-crab
and Scorpion ; Owen's papers were on a large extinct Kangaroo,
and Dinornis; and Kitchen Parker described the Construction
of the Skull in the Chameleon and the Tailed Batrachians. The
twelfth volume, with fifteen memoirs, was published in 1890.
Perhaps the most important contribution was that of Mr.
Beddard and Mr. (now Sir) Frederick Treves on the Anatomy
of the Sondaic Rhinoceros.

THE ZOOLOGIGAL SOCIETY. 199

Exhibited for the First Time. Breeding Species.

Year.

Mammals.

Birds.

Reptiles.

Total.

Mammals.

Birds.

Reptiles.

Total.

1881

1882

1883

1884

—

1885

1886

1887

1888

1889

1890

Animals in the Menagerie.

Year.

Mammals.

Birds.

Reptiles.

Total.'

1881

647

1,389

258

2,294

1882

750

1,364

241

2,355

. 1883

731

1,398

269

2,398

1884

731

1,423

347

2,501

1885

756

1,366

429

2,551

1886

777

1,429

403

2,609

1887

735

1,331

459

2,525

1888

666

1,280

344

2,290

1889

519

1,411

302

2,232

1890

693

1,273

290

2,256

Fellowship Roll, Visitors, and Finance.

Year.

No. of
Fellows.

Admissions to
Gardens.

Income.
£

Expenditure.
£

1881

3,213

648,694

25,810

25,687

1882

3,213

849,776

34,270

29,376

1883

3,210

743,485

28,966

38,040

1884

3,255

745,460

28,939

33,845

1885

3,193

659,896

25,809

25,084

1886

3,146

639,674

25,787

24,568

1887

3,104

562,898

23,102

23,135

1888

3,076

608,402

24,025

22,139

1889

3,075

644,579

26,427

23,268

1890

3,046

640,987

25,059

23,572

200

CHAPTER IX.

1891-1900.

Several changes in the principal officers took place during
this decade. In 1896 the health of the Superintendent, Mr.
Abraham Dee Bartlett, failed, and he died on May 7, 1897, in
his eighty-fifth year, and the thirty-eighth in the Society's
service. He was a man of wide experience and more than
ordinary skill in the management of animals in captivity. He
has left it on record in his scanty autobiographical notes that
Cross of Exeter 'Change allowed him "to crawl about the
beast-room of that menagerie," so that he could not recollect
seeing lions, tigers, elephants, or any other wild beasts for the
first time, for the reason that he spent his early years among
them. After his apprenticeship to his father, a hairdresser
and brushmaker, he became a taxidermist, and though self-
taught, obtained a first prize in the Great Exhibition of 1851.
Prior to this he had become known to Yarrell, Ogilby, Gould,
and other Fellows of the Zoological Society, and corresponded
with D. W. Mitchell, who then resided in Cornwall. Bartlett
set down in these Notes his astonishment that Mitchell obtained
the secretaryship, and continued:

He did not fail, however, to consult me on the future prosperity of
the Society, and this led to the opening of the Gardens [in April, 1848]
to the public on payment of sixpence on Mondays. The success of
this concession to the public undoubtedly brought about the popularity of
the collection and its advancement to its present condition.

Bartlett's appointment took place in 1859, and from that
time till his death he was a favourite with the public, who
saw in him the personification of the Zoological Society.
For them there was neither Council nor Secretary: Bartlett
was all-important and all-powerful. It was the same with the
Press. At his death his services to popular zoology were set
forth at much greater length than has ever been devoted to

THE ZOOLOaiOAL SOCIETY. 201

the work of any President or Secretary. Naturally his life was
full of incident, and afforded abundant opportunity for graphic
description. With the Royal Family he was also a favourite ;
he used to take care of Queen Victoria's pet birds during Her
Majesty's absence from London, and attend to them when they
were ailing.

At the General Meeting immediately following his death
the Council put on record :

Their deep sense of the services rendered to the Society by the late
Mr. Bartlett during the long period for which he had held his post, and
their full appreciation of the skill, energy, and faithfulness with which he
discharged the multifarious and difficult duties of his office.

In appointing a successor, they felt they could not ignore
the claims of Clarence Bartlett, the late Superintendent's second
son, who since 1872 had acted as clerk of works and Assistant
Superintendent, and was " fully acquainted with all the details
of the business connected with the office and quite competent
to discharge them."

On July 1, 1899, the presidential chair became vacant by
the death of Sir William Flower,-^ who had held office for
rather more than twenty years. Sir William became a Fellow
in 1851, and read his first paper in 1852. Sixty of his con-
tributions were printed in the Society's publications, of which
fifty-two appeared in the Proceedings and the remainder in
the Transactions. The Council expressed their regret at the
loss of " a zoologist of the highest abilities, and a most able
and energetic President."

The Duke of Bedford, who became a Fellow in 1872 and
was elected into the Council in 1897, was selected by the other
members to be President till the next Anniversary Meeting. In
asking the Fellows to confirm their choice the Council said
they felt confident they would " receive the support of all who
were acquainted with the great interest taken by His Grace in
the progress of zoology and the splendid collection of living
animals founded and maintained at Woburn Abbey."

The acceptance of the Presidency by the Duke of Bedford
was taken as a good omen by those desirous of seeing a

♦Professor W. H. Flower was made C.B. in 1887 and K.C.B. in 1892.

202 THE ZOOLOOIGAL SOCIETY.

revival of the practical work of the Society. With this the
late President does not appear to have had much sympathy.
It has been shown that he looked on the office of Prosector
as an endowment of research"^ (p. 151); and in his Jubilee
Address the references to early attempts at acclimatisation —
distinctly laid down in the Charter as one of the objects of the
Society — can scarcely be called favourable. It was pointed out
by Mr. W. B. Tegetmeier in the Field (Nov. 10, 1900) that
" Sir William had evidently forgotten the turkey " j when he
said, " no addition of any practical importance has been made to
our stock of truly domestic animals since the commencement
of the historic period of man's life upon earth."

Promotion came this year to Mr. Arthur Thomson, the
head-keeper, who was appointed Assistant Superintendent.

The circular yard, with rockwork for Barbary sheep, was
erected in 1891. This species is kept in greater numbers in
Continental Gardens than in Regent's Park. It does well in
confinement, and breeds freely, and a herd makes a good show.
Of the same date is the kiosk hard by, for the sale of photo-
graphs of animals in the Gardens, serving also as 'the office
where tickets for elephant and camel rides may be procured.
This year witnessed a return to the old practice of keeping
monkeys in the open. A cage was built at the east end of the
monkey house for the Tcheli macaque, presented by Dr.
Bushell, and the animal, a native of Northern China, did
exceedingly well in these quarters.

In 1893 the stables at the west end of the Middle Garden,
which served also for the reception of animals on arrival and
departure, were rebuilt. By an arrangement with the Canal
Company a new fence was erected along the south bank, and in
return for a contribution of £100 the company made certain
alterations and easements to suit the convenience of the Society.

The drainage question, which had occupied the attention
of the vestries of St. Pancras and St. Marylebone, the directors

* J. E. Gray was, to some extent, responsible for the change in the character of
the prosectorial work.

f The guinea-fowl may be added. For, as Professor Newton states (" Dictionary
of Birds," p. 400), it was probably reintroduced at the time of the African discov-
eries of the Portuguese; and there is " apparently no evidence of its domestication
being continuous from the time of the Eomans."

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 203

of the Regent's Canal, and the Council for the past fifty years,
was satisfactorily settled without litigation. The new sewer
was brought up to the Gardens by the parish authorities, and
the drainage was diverted into it by the Society at a cost
of £1,100.

Next year preparations were made for the new ostrich
house by clearing away the sheds and enclosures south
of the monkey house. The row of cages put up by the
Garden staff outside the small cats' house for the more
hardy small carnivora became notorious a few years later.

This house was stocked and opened in 1897 ; the total
cost of the structure was about £3,400. In the southern half
of the building are twelve compartments, the centre four being
assigned to the ostriches, and those on each side to the
rheas, cassowaries, and emeus. The northern half, with six-
teen compartments, is used for cranes and storks, and on each
side the compartments open into grassed enclosures. Formerly
the more delicate of these birds were removed from their usual
quarters during the winter, but in the new house they may be
viewed all the year round.

The tortoise house, appropriately erected near the large
reptile house, is of the same date. To the cost of the building
the Hon. Walter Rothschild contributed £150. It was a work
of some difficulty to transfer the large tortoises from the
Middle Garden to their new house. The gigantic Daudin's
tortoise was put into a sling that had been originally made
for lifting a sick elephant. The margins were attached to
poles, and it took a dozen men to effect the removal.

In 1898 the Fellows' Tea Pavilion was erected, facing the
Lawn, and the llama house reconstructed on the site of the
original cattle sheds; and at that time the old owls' cages of
the same date at the back were done away with. The removal
of the birds from the sheds at the west end of the Middle
Garden allowed these to be taken down. It was then deter-
mined to utilise the ground for a new zebra house. For some
years the old well sunk on the canal bank in 1834 had been
useless owing to the penetration of sand into the bore, the
clearing of which was found to be impracticable. This obliged
the Society to obtain the whole of the water-supply from the

204 TEE ZOOLOOIOAL SOCIETY.

West Middlesex Company at a heavy cost. Consequently the
Council decided to sink a new bore and erect machinery for
raising the water, which was done at a cost of about £1,300.
A saving of £150 was effected in the expenditure for water
supply the first year the well was used.

In March, 1899, the new zebra house was finished at a
cost of about £1,100, and the animals put into the stalls, which
open into one large paddock. In the last year of the century
a second reservoir was constructed, and the pheasantry in the
North Garden put up ; but it was not opened till after the
Easter holidays in 1901.

Important additions were made to the Menagerie in this
decade. In 1891 the first snow-leopard was acquired by pur-
chase ; unfortunately the animal, which is believed to have been
obtained in Bhotan, lived but a short time. Nevertheless, it
completed the series of the larger cats, all of which had now
been exhibited in the collection. Among the new birds were
Lhuys's Impeyan pheasant and the Tibet crossoptilon, or
Hodgson's eared pheasant — in both cases the first examples
received alive in Europe — the yellow-crowned penguin, and the
spotted-billed pelican.

An example of the remarkable Hainan gibbon was presented
in 1892 ; this is the Yuen of Chinese classics, in which the
male is described as being black and the female white.^ No
European naturalist has seen this anthropoid in its native
haunts. Consul Swinhoe was told in the 'sixties by a magis-
trate of the island that this gibbon " had the power of drawing
into its body the long arm-bones, and that when it drew in one
arm it pushed out the other to such an extraordinary length
that he believed the two bones united in the body, and he said
they were used for chopsticks." Stairs's monkey, one of the
" green " group, obtained on the Lower Zambesi, and presented
by Dr. J. A. Moloney, of Stairs's expedition, was new to science.
Other specimens have since been exhibited ; the species is
easily recognisable by the chestnut band extending backward
from the forehead on each side.

* A female received at the Gardens in January, 1904, was then quite hlack,
but in less than a year changed to silvery grey. Mr. K. T. Pocock's observations
{Proceedings, 1905, ii. 169-180, pi. 5) are of great interest.

Photo: Cassell & Co., Ltd.

Rocky Mountain Goat. {See p. 211.)

Photo: Cassell & Co., Ltd.

Plate 42.

LSelous' Antelope. (See p. 211.)

THE ZOOLOQIGAL SOCIETY. 205

A Steller's sea-lion is said to have been deposited this year ;
but though the statement was made on what is usually good
authority, it is negatived by the evidence of the Death-book,
which shows that the animal was really a Californian sea -lion.
Nevertheless, it was of more than ordinary interest. The
owner, Mr. Bostock, sent it to the Gardens because it would
not feed. Bartlett tried it with different kinds of fish — every-
thing was refused. Then he bought a dozen pounds of live
eels, and threw them into the pond. Their rapid motion, as if
to escape from danger, seemed to whet the sea-lion's appetite ;
it dashed after them, and in five minutes had swallowed
every one.

After its feast of eels the sea-lion was left in the large pond
for the night. When the keeper arrived next morning, he
found, to his consternation, that the animal was missing. It had
got over the iron railing, 3 ft. high, into the seals' enclosure,
over that railing, and waddled across the broad path, and so
into the swans' pond, where it was found comfortably located
with the birds. Thence it was driven by the keepers, armed
with birch brooms, which the Superintendent considered the
most effective weapon against carnivora, as a thrust in the face
confused them. The animal, received on August 10, died on
September 11, and the cadaver was "returned intact to
depositor."

In October the "Queen's ostrich" was deposited by Her
Majesty, to whom it had been presented by Mr. A. L. Jones, of
Aigburth, who had sent out a collecting expedition to the basin
of the Upper Niger. This was probably the largest ostrich
ever shown at the Gardens. It was kept in the giraffe house,
and measured 4 ft. 10 in. in height at the back, and about
4 ft. 3 in. in body-length.

In 1893 an adult male Stairs's monkey was presented,
and it is exceedingly interesting to note that this fine animal
had lived for some years in a garden in the North of London,
with no other shelter than a box at the foot of the pole to
which it was chained. The change of quarters was fatal ; the
animal's life in the monkey house was measured by months.
In noticing the arrival of a young chimpanzee that had never
been caged, and commenting on a letter deahng with the

206 THE ZOOLOGICAL 80GIETY.

subject of keeping monkeys in the open air, in cages or on
the chain, the Field (May 31, 1902) said:

Owen seems to have advocated this plan. An entry in his wife's diary,
under date of October 8, 1840, reads thus : " At K.'s desire, in the Gardens
to-day, the monkeys and the elephants were let out to enjoy the sunshine
long before the general time, two o'clock." The elephants still possess
their old privilege ; and the monkeys — using the term in a wide sense —
would probably thrive the better if some means could be devised for
"letting them out,"

Sir Henry Blake sent home from Jamaica an adult female
manatee and calf. In this case the diflSculties of transport had
bad results ; the animals were in an exhausted condition when
they reached the Gardens, and died soon after their arrival.

Two notable birds, new to the collection, were received this
year : the Corean sea eagle and the great grebe of Antarctic
America. A Goliath beetle was presented, and in exhibiting
the insect at the Scientific Meeting of November 7, Dr. Sclater
said that, so far as he knew, no living specimen had previously
been brought to England.

Livingstone's eland, distinguished by transverse white stripes
on the barrel and a dark brown band above the knee, was
introduced in 1894 This form ranks at most as a subspecies ;
and Mr. Crawshay, in a paper on the Antelopes of Nyasaland,
says that elands are subject to great variation :

In a single troop individuals may be seen varying from a light tawny
yellow to a slaty blue in very old age, while in some the stripes are clearly
defined, in others faintly, and in others again they are not distinguishable
at all.*

Bennett's tree kangaroo was another introductioa This
species, according to Dr. Sclater, was not sufficiently described ;
therefore, at the Scientific Meeting of December 4, he gave a
fuller diagnosis. At the same time he exhibited " a photograph
of four examples of this rare animal, taken when high up in a
leafless tree in the Zoological Gardens at Melbourne." This
had been kindly sent by Mr. Le Souef, who described these
kangaroos as remaining during the day on the highest branches
of a tree, and descending at night to pass from one tree to
another. Unfortunately, at Regent's Park these animals were

♦ Troeeedings, 1890, p. 658.

THE ZOOLOOIOAL SOCIETY. 207

kept in one of the dens in the sloths' house, and had scant
opportunity of displaying their climbing powers. Examples of
the famous Surinam toad originally described by Madame
Merian were presented by Mr. Blaauw.

The second snow-leopard — Moti, the Pearl — was purchased in
the early part of this year. This had been a lady's pet from a
cub, and was quite tame. It was kept in the lion house, but
generally remained in the sleeping quarters at the back till
nearly closing-time. The animal, which was a great favourite
died in May, 1897.

Daisy, first described as a Cape giraffe, was purchased early
in 1895, and is still living in the Gardens. It has since been
determined that she belongs to the race which Mr. Lydekker
has named Ward's giraffe,^ to commemorate the facts that
Mr. Eowland Ward presented the mounted head and neck of
a bull of the same race to the Natural History Museum, and
was the first to call attention to the distinctness of the Somali
giraffe. The Alexandra parrakeet and Forsten's lorikeet were
exhibited for the first time; as was the frilled lizard, which,
unfortunately, did not live long in captivity.

The second gorilla— Jenny — to come into the Society's
possession was purchased in March, 1896, but only lived till
August 16. This was the largest example imported alive, and
was just acquiring its permanent teeth; it was kept in one of
the large dens in the sloths' house, and appeared to thrive for a
time, though it was never lively. Brazza's monkey from French
Congoland, remarkable for its chestnut brow-band, strange
facial coloration, and white beard, was exhibited for the first
time this year. Another novelty was the clawless manatee of
the Amazon, a species which was known to Dr. A. Kussel
Wallace, though unfortunately the skin and skeleton which
he prepared were lost with the rest of his collection when the
ship in which he had taken his passage home was burnt.
Strange to say, the klipspringer, one of the commonest African
antelopes, reached the Gardens for the first time this year, as
did three remarkable birds — the lettered aragari, Baer's duck,
and Frankhn's gull.

In 1897 the Chief Bathoen of Bechuanaland sent a fine

* Proceedings, 1904, i. 224.

208 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

male Cape giraffe to this country, as a present to" Queen
Victoria on her Diamond Jubilee. By Her Majesty's order the
animal was to be deposited in the Gardens. It suffered con-
siderably on the passage, and was moribund when it reached
the Park. The box was taken into the paddock, but on
removing the bar and opening the door the giraffe was found
lying dead. Great disappointment was felt at this mischance,
for hopes had been entertained that the Jubilee giraffe, as it
was popularly called, would prove a suitable mate for Daisy.
Other introd actions were the Altai deer, the Dominican cat,
the Uvaean parrakeet, the pygmy goose, Smith's bronze-winged
pigeon, the thick-billed penguin, and the white-legged falconet.
A monkey received early in the year was tentatively referred
to as a species exhibited in 1840, and described by Ogilby as
the Tantalus monkey in the Proceedings (1841, p. 33).

A very fine example of Daudin's tortoise was deposited by
the Hon. Walter Rothschild. This huge reptile, originally from
the Aldabra, had been in captivity in the Mauritius for about
150 years, and was believed to be the largest living land
tortoise. The length, over the curve of the shell, taped 5 ft.
6 in., and in a straight line 4 ft. 7 in. ; the width in a straight
line from side to side was 2 ft. 10 in., which was also the
height from the top of the carapace to the ground ; and the
weight was about 5 cwt. At Mr. Rothschild's request, Mr.
Arthur Thomson Avent to Marseilles to bring the tortoise to
London, but although he had engaged a waggon to take the
reptile across Paris to the Gare du Nord, owing to some
misunderstanding he had to stow the crate on the top of an
omnibus. As he himself expressed it, he felt anxious lest the
tortoise should break down the roof and travel inside.

One new anthropoid and two new monkeys were received in
1898. The siamang gibbon, presented by Mr. Stanley Flower,
was the first seen alive in Europe, although Sir Stamford Raffles
had described it in the Transactions of the Linnean Society in
1822. Dr. H. 0. Forbes gave an interesting account of a young
pet siamang which he kept in Sumatra :

The gentle and caressing way in which it clasps me round the neck
with its long arms, laying its head on my chest, and watching my face
with its dark brown eyes, uttering a satisfied crooning sound, is most

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 209

engaging. . . . Every evening it makes with me a tour round the
village square, with one of its hands on my arm. It is a very curious and
ludicrous sight to see it in the erect attitude on its somewhat bandy legs,
hurrying along in the most frantic haste, as if to keep its head from
outrunning its feet, with its long free arm see-sawing in the most odd way
over its head to balance itself, and now and again touching the ground
with its finger-tips or its knuckles." *

Mr. Frohawk, who made an accurate drawing of the animal,
contributed the following note to the Field (November 26,
1898) to accompany the picture. It is of much interest as
showing the desire of these anthropoids for some form of
animal food:

I have sketched it expanding the peculiar loose globular throat, which
it blows out while calling. Its voice is wonderfully clear, deep, and
mellow, and resembles the baying of a hound. I caught for it one of those
small cockroaches which inhabit the apes' house, and it instantly seized it
between its thumb and base of forefinger, then climbed up to the top of
its cage, using the tips of the fingers of that hand still holding the
cockroach, and then ate it. I noticed it tried several times to catch flies
as they flew near it by grabbing at them with its hand.

Dr. George Bennett obtained an example of this gibbon at
Singapore in 1830, and intended to bring it to England for the
Gardens. Unfortunately, the animal died on the passage, f

Rtippell's colobus, with jet black fur and long white
mantle covering the sides, was entered as new. This monkey
ranges over North-East Africa, with a geographical race in the
neighbourhood of the Upper Congo. The Masai use the skins
for articles of dress and for covering their shields. L'hoest's
monkey from Congoland was new to science, and was described
by Dr. Sclater in the Proceedings (1898, p. 586) as belonging
to his Black-handed section of the guenons, coming nearest
to Sykes's monkey, but distinguished therefrom by its dark
head and the fluffy white elongated ruff on each side of the
throat.

An example of the Duke of Bedford's deerj was presented
by the President, who introduced this species at Woburn, where
there is now a large herd. Two examples of the Australian

* " Handbook of the Primates," ii. 168, 169.
t " Wanderings in New South Wales," ii. 142.
X Lydekker in Proceedings, 1896, pp. 930-34 ; ibid. 1897, p. 815.
O

210 TEE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

lung-fish were purchased of Mr. D. O'Connor, who had been
engaged by the Royal Society of Queensland to remove a
number of these fish to new localities, because the extinction
of the species was feared. This was done so successfully that
he was encouraged to attempt the importation of these fishes
into England, which was equally successful, and they are still
living in the reptile house.

A young giraffe of the typical form was purchased of Mr.
Hagenbeck in July. The animal only lived about a month
after its arrival ; post-mortem examination showed that it had
suffered from hydatid tumours.

Grevy's zebra came to the Gardens in 1899. A pair had
been presented to Queen Victoria by the Emperor Menelek,
and Her Majesty deposited them in the care of the Society.
This zebra derives its specific name, conferred by Milne -
Edwards, from a former President of the French Republic,
to whom a mare was presented in 1882 by the ruler of
Abyssinia. The animal was sent to the Jardin des Plantes,
where it lived but a few days, and the mounted skin of this,
the type-specimen, is now in the Natural History Museum at
Paris. At a Scientific Meeting on April 3, 1883, Colonel Grant
read some notes on the zebra met with by the Speke and
Grant expedition, from which it appeared that this species,,
or a geographical race, ranged a good distance to the south
of Shoa, whence the type-specimen was procured.

At the Scientific Meeting of May 7, 1901, Dr. Sclater, on
behalf of Mr. E. Bid well, a well-known ornithologist, called
attention to the fact that in the translation of the work of
Ludolphus on Ethiopia there was the description of an animal
"about the bigness of a mule, brought out of the woods of
Habessinia and the country possessed by the Galans [Gallas] and
easily tam'd." ^ The whole seemed to correspond very closely
with the accounts of Gravy's zebra. Later examination of the

* Ludolphus: A new history of Ethiopia . . . Made English hy J.P., Gent.
Folio. London, 1682. The passage, accurately cited in the Proceedings^ 1901, ii. 2,
is unfortunately marred by a mistranslation hy J. P. The words : " A present
of great esteem, and frequently given to the Kings of Habessinia," quoted
to show that these zebras were Royal gifts in the seventeenth century, mis-
represent Ludolphus, who wrote : " In donis Regum Habessiniae frequens et
prsecipuum esse solet.''

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 211

*' Historia ^Ethiopica " of Ludolphus and the " Commentarius "
of the same writer appears to establish two facts : that animals
of this species were at that date reserved as gifts to Royalties
and persons exercising sovereign powers ; and that before the
end of the seventeenth century three had been so sent to the
Sultan of Turkey, one to the Pasha of Suakin (who sold his
to an Indian for presentation to the Great Mogul), and two
to the Governor of the Dutch East India Company, who at
once shipped them to Japan, as a gift to the Emperor.^

The first example of the Cape jumping hare was also received
in 1899. Many previous attempts to introduce this animal
had been made, but all had failed. A male Selous' antelope
was obtained from Mr. Cecil Rhodes by exchange, in the hope,
which was not fulfilled, that the stock might be perpetuated.t
The Hon. Walter Rothschild deposited a fine series of casso-
waries ; six species, represented by fifteen individuals, were new
to the collection.

A young male giraffe, probably obtained in Portuguese East
Africa, was purchased from Mr. Reiche, of Alfeld, for £800. J In
their Report the Council, while admitting that the price seemed
high, pointed out that the difiiculty of obtaining living speci-
mens was very great. They hoped that, when adult, the animal
would form a mate for Daisy. The giraffe was injured at the
time of its capture ; two of the bones of the neck afterwards
grew together, causing a pressure on the spinal cord, and the
animal died in January, 1902. According to Owen {Transac-
tions, ii. 231), the first giraffe lost from Thibaut's herd died
from a similar cause, though in that case it was one of the
lumbar vertebrae that was injured.

In 1900 the Rocky Mountain goat was introduced, and
this example was probably the first living specimen to reach
any part of the Old World. It is worth noting that a mounted
specimen was figured in the Museum Catalogue of 1829. Two
skins were presented by the Hudson's Bay Company, and one

♦ Proceedings, 1905, i. 145-47.

t The male died on January 24, 1905, and the female, presented in 1890, two
days later.

X Mr. Lydekker is of opinion that this approaches the type of Ward's giraffe
—Froceedinffs, 1904, i. 256.

212 THE ZOOLOOIOAL SOCIETY.

was the original of Richardson's description in the " Fauna
Boreali- Americana " (p. 268). These were, no doubt, the earliest
museum specimens exhibited in Europe. The Ural owl, the
Caffre bustard, the rose-collared lorikeet, and Bouquet's
amazon were the most important new birds. Besides these
Mr. R W. Harper presented a fine series of Indian birds,
representing twenty species, mostly new to the aviaries.

Krtiger's lion — which was really a lioness —reached the
Gardens in August. A good deal of interest centred in this
animal, because she had been presented by Cecil Rhodes to
the Gardens at Pretoria, whence, after a very short stay, she
was returned to the donor. Dr. Sclater was then on a visit to
South Africa ; and the animal was offered to and accepted by
him on behalf of the Society. There was no truth in the story,
which had gained currency, that the tail was cut, but the ears
were trimmed and rounded. The lioness was very tame, and
had been kept on a chain, like a dog. After peace was declared
in South Africa, she was sent back to Pretoria.

Several species of antelopes bred for the first time in the
collection during this decade. The most important were
the waterbuck in 1893, the white gnu in the following year,
and the brindled gnu in 1900. Some interesting hybrids were
produced in 1894, which had Selous' antelope for sire and the
West African bush-buck"^ for dam.

Shortly after the arrival of the Surinam toads, considerable
interest was aroused by the fact that one of the females carried
eggs on her back. According to popular belief the females
came to land to deposit their eggs, which were then placed
on their back by the male. The first part of the story
seemed improbable, for the toads never left the large tank in
which they were kept. The following letter from Bartlett
appeared in the Standard of December 10, 1894. It is curious,

♦ This name, used by Mr. Lydekker in the "Royal Natural History," and
"by Mr. Rowland Ward in his " Records of Big Game," seems more fitting than
that of "pleasant antelope," given in the Vertebrate List. A still better name
is that officially adopted while these sheets were passing through the press. In
the monthly List of Additions it is called the West African marsh-buck, which
tersely describes the locality and habitat, and implies the diagnosis of the generic
or subgeneric name Limnotragus, by which Mr. R. I. Pocock discriminates the
long-hoofed swamp antelopes from the typical bush-bucks.

PLATE XI.

THE APE HOUSE.

{See p. 231.)

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 213

in that while refuting one error it gives the sanction of the
writer's authority to two others :

Sir,— It seems strange, considering the great number of books
published upon natural history subjects, that the mode of reproduction
of an animal well known upwards of a hundred years ago, and figured
and described over and over again, should yet remain a subject of doubt
and uncertainty. This is, however, the case with the Surinam toad. The
statements made with reference to its mode of reproduction are certainly
not reliable. In the first place, the female Surinam toad does not deposit
her eggs on land to be afterwards placed upon her back by the male before
she enters the water, simply because these animals never come on land, but
are strictly aquatic.

It is also somewhat doubtful whether it is the female that carries the
eggs. In a well-known species (the midwife toad) the female deposits her
eggs upon the male, who carries them about until they are hatched. The
living specimens of the Surinam toads in these Gardens have aflforded me
the opportunity of carefully examining one of these animals, an hour or
two after the eggs had appeared upon its back. I was struck with
astonishment at their regular and symmetrical arrangement and their
smooth and very uniform condition. This led Mr. Arthur Thomson (who
has taken great interest in the subject) to suggest that the eggs had been
protruded from under the skin on to the back of the creature, instead of
having been placed there by the male, and this appears to be the most
likely solution of this very singular and remarkable mode of reproduction.
I am, Sir, your obedient servant,

A. D. BARTLETT.
Zoological Gardens, Regent's Park, December 8.

But dissection established the fact that the egg-bearing
toad was the female ; and at least ten years before any living
specimens of these amphibians reached the Gardens Martin
Duncan had described the cavities which give the back of the
female a honeycombed appearance, and each of which had
contained an egg. " The question is," he said, " how did the egg
get into this extraordinary position ? Certainly it would not be
deposited there by the mother; and equally certainly there is
no passage from the egg-producing structures in her body to
the cavities."^

In 1896 the mystery was solved. Two males were seen
clasping two females round the lower part of the body, and on
the next morning Tennant, one of the keepers (now money-
taker at the North Entrance), was so fortunate as to witness the

* " CasseU's Natural History," iv. 361.

2U THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

deposition of the eggs. The following account furnished by him
is quoted from Bartlett's report:

The oviduct of the female protruded from her body more than an inch
in length, and the bladder-like protrusion being retroverted passed under
the belly of the male on to her own back. The male appeared to press
tightly on this protruded bag and to squeeze it from side to side,
apparently pressing the eggs forward one by one on to the back of the
female. By this movement the eggs were spread with nearly uniform
smoothness on to the back of the female, to which they became firmly
adherent.*

One of the egg-bearing females died, and was examined by
Mr. Boulenger, who found that the uterus contained a good
number of ripe ova. His deduction from Tennant's observation
was that fecundation took place before the extrusion of the
eggs. In this connection it may be well to give the original
description of Madame Merian :

Foemina ex animalibus ejus generis in dorso gerit foetos suos, q u i p p e
uterus ad longitudinem dorsi positus semina con-
cepit, fovet et nutrit usque dum maturitatem vitamque nacti
sint foetus, quando ipsi per cutem sibi pariunt viam unus post alium
sensim velut ex ovo erumpentes.t

In 1896 a pair of pratincoles bred in the fish house ; the
first egg was eaten by a whimbrel, and three subsequently
laid were hatched out, but none of the chicks lived more than
a couple of days.J Bartlett's notes are interesting, as this
appears to be the first instance in which the species has bred
in confinement.

The male and female were observed to take turns on the nest. On
June 20 the young birds could be seen, and on the keeper's approach to
the aviary the female would rush forward with wings and tail spread out
and with open mouth, apparently craving for food, which she would peck
or take from his hands, and return to the young ; brooding over them like a
common fowl, she commenced the up-and-down movement of her head,
and the food being regurgitated, was taken from her mouth by the young.
The young never left the nest.

The breeding list in the Report for 1898 contains this entry :
One hybrid zebra (bred between Equus caballus and Equus

* Froceedings, 1896, p. 597.

+ "Insectes de Surinam" (A La Haye, 1726), p. 69, pi. lix.

t **Wnd Beasts in the 'Zoo,' " pp. 195, 196.

TEE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

215

hurchelli). Probably the foal died soon after birth, for there
does not appear to be any reference to it in the Society's
literature. It is, however, worth recording, for the neglect to
utilise the fine series of zebras and wild asses in this direction
was about the end of the century frequently cited as a reproach.
Sally, the famous chimpanzee, died in 1891, also the African
rhinoceros purchased in 1868. In the following year the male
giraffe, purchased in 1879, was lost by death. As was shown in
the table on p. 64, the last giraffe descended from the original
herd was born March 17, 1867, and died on June 20, 1881. It
is sometimes said that the original herd died out in 1892 ; but
the animals enumerated below, as having lived in the Menagerie,
had no strain of what may be called the Thibaut blood :

No.

Sex.

How Acquired.

Date of Death.

2
3
4
5
6
7

6
9

Purchased, July 23, 1861
„ Jan. 5, 1871
„ Oct. 11, 1871

[ „ July 25, 1874

„ Jan. 27, 1879

Sept. 12, 1869
April 27, 1874
May 21, 1878
Jan. 8, 1879
July 9, 1886
Nov. 24, 1891
March 22, 1892

Thus, on the date last given, for the first time since the
arrival of Thibaut's giraffes on May 25, 1836, the Society was
without any representative of this remarkable mammal The
Soudan was closed by the Mahdists, and Dr. Sclater said at
the Scientific Meeting of April 5, that so far as he could make
out, "with the exception of a single old female, for which an
exorbitant price was demanded, there were no living giraffes
in the market."

A good deal of excitement was caused in October, 1894,
by the fact that a boa swallowed its cage-mate, and the reptile
was popularly known as the " cannibal boa." On the evening
of October 5 the keeper (Tyrrell) put two pigeons into the
den, and saw that the larger reptile seized one of the birds,
after which he closed the house and left the Gardens. On
the next morning he found that the smaller boa had dis-
appeared, while the other was enormously increased in size ;

216 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

it had no power to throw its body into curves, but lay at
full length, with the skin so distended that the scales were
separated. It seems a mistake to call the swallower a cannibal.
The whole business was probably an accident. Having swallowed
its own pigeon, there is Httle doubt that the larger boa struck
at the bird still within the jaws of its companion, thus en-
veloping not only the pigeon, but the head of the other boa.
Once its teeth were fixed, the process went on mechanically,
and there could be no other result. Bartlett expected that the
boa would be unable to digest its fellow, and would disgorge
it. This was not the case. On November 2 the reptile had
regained its normal proportions, and took another pigeon. " It
will be seen by this," he said, in his report to the Scientific
Meeting of November 20, "that a serpent of eleven feet in
length can not only swallow and digest another serpent only
about two feet shorter, but is ready to feed again twenty-eight
days afterwards."

This case differs widely from that of the king cobra or
lamadryad, which feeds almost entirely on other snakes. Many
instances of such accidental swallowing are on record. One of
the most curious is that related by Messrs. Mole and Urich
of an innocuous snake, known in Trinidad as the " cribo."

A cribo once in our possession struck at a mouse and caught his own
tail ; this he diligently swallowed, until at least one-fourth of his entire
length disappeared down his own throat. In this position he looked like
the numeral eight (8). After some minutes' consideration he disgorged.*

The Queen's ostrich died in 1895, and the aye-aye in 1896,
in which year Jung Pershad, the male Indian elephant deposited
by the Prince of Wales (now King Edward VII.) on his return
from India in 1876, fell dead in his stall. In 1897 the reticulated
python, presented by Dr. Hampshire in 1876, was lost by death.
For two years it had not taken food voluntarily, but had been
crammed by the keepers. It was the largest specimen ever
exhibited in the Gardens, and it is doubtful if a finer one has
ever been seen in captivity. The stuffed skin is now in
Mr. Rothschild's Museum at Tring.

Begum, the hairy-eared rhinoceros, acquired in 1872, died in
the last year of the century; and a serious loss was that of

* Froceedinffs, 1894, p. 509.

Photo : Cassell & Co., Ltd.

Kangaroo Paddock. (See j). 234.)

Fhoto : Cassell & Co., Ltd.

Plate 44.

Small Mammals' House. (See ;>. 234.)

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 217

the male Grevy's zebra, belonging to Queen "Victoria. On
Whit Monday, June 4, the animal, with the mare, was in the
paddock ; when the keepers opened the house the next morning
he was lying on the ground dead, just where he had fallen
while feeding, for he had some hay in his mouth. Examination
of the cadaver showed that the zebra was much older than had
been supposed. Soon after this, at the wish of the late Queen,
the mare was sent to Windsor, where it remained till the
menagerie stock was sent to the Gardens by the King. A fine
portrait of this zebra, exhibited by Miss Nellie Hadden at
the Modern Gallery, was presented by the artist to the Society,
and is hung in the meeting-room. The animal is still in the
Gardens.

Mention must be made of the reception at the Gardens in
1898 of the members of the Fourth International Congress
of Zoology, held at Cambridge. Owing to the illness of the
President the members and their friends were received by the
Council. The Hon. Walter Rothschild's fine collection of giant
tortoises was shown on the lawn, and circulars giving particulars
of the species, with the size and weight of each reptile, were
distributed among the guests. Unfortunately, the stormy
weather marred the success of this meeting. It is perhaps
worth mention that the status of the Superintendent and the
desirability of appointing someone with qualifications at least on
a par with those of directors of Continental Gardens of the first
rank, were informally discussed by some English zoologists
during the Congress as an abstract question, and without any
idea that the change was to come so soon, or that, when it came,
candidates would be invited to submit their claims to the
consideration of a committee.

The Prince of Wales (now King Edward VIL), accompanied
by the Duke and Duchess of York (now the Prince and Princess
of Wales), visited the Gardens in May, 1899. There was another
Royal visit in June, 1900, when the King and the present heir
to the throne inspected a small collection of the Indian animals
recently presented to the latter and deposited in the care of the
Society. Among these was a lion from Kathiawar, a valuable
acquisition to the Menagerie, where only African lions had been
exhibited for some years.

218 TEE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

In 1893 additional oak-cases for books were fitted up in
the library at No. 3, Hanover Square, and the electric light
was substituted for gas throughout the house. Three years
later the chief clerk, Mr. W. J. Williams, who entered the
Society's service when Dr. Sclater was elected Secretary, retired
on a pension, and Mr. W. H. Cole was promoted to the position.
To Mr. G. A. Doubleday, who till then had assisted Mr. Water-
house in the library, was assigned the business connected with
the Scientific Meetings and publications, and in all that related
to them the change was a great improvement. It was, however,
attended with a serious disadvantage ; it deprived Mr. Water-
house of an efficient helper, and was consequently regretted
by many of the naturalists who used the library, and were
indebted to the Librarian and his former assistant for valuable
help on the bibliographical side of their scientific work. The
Society for the Protection of Birds became tenants in 1898.

Several grants in aid of scientific objects were made during
the decade. In 1891, when Mr. Beddard resigned the editorship
of the "Zoological Record," Dr. David Sharp was appointed,
and the income from the Davis Bequest was assigned him as
remuneration-— none too large — for the work. In 1898 a sum
of £100 was granted in aid of the funds of the Fourth Inter-
national Congress of Zoology, which met at Cambridge in
the August of that year, and a similar sum to the committee
engaged in preparing an " Index Generum et Specierum
Animalium," properly described as "a most important under-
taking for the future progress of zoology." The same amount
was voted in 1899 and 1900 towards the expenses of the
" Index," which was prepared by Mr. C. Davies Sherborn. In
the last year of the decade the Society also contributed £200
in aid of the National Antarctic Expedition, and £50 towards
the cost of J. S. Budge tt's expedition to the Gambia.

Several series of lectures were delivered by Mr. Beddard at
the Gardens. In 1900 four lectures were given in the meeting-
room. No. 3, Hanover Square, after the business meetings in
April, May, June, and July, in the following order: Dr. A. Smith
Woodward, on the Animals of Australia ; Mr. G. A. Boulenger, on
the Freshwater Fishes of Africa; Professor E. Ray Lankester,
on the Gigantic Sloths of Patagonia; and Mr. Beddard, on

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

219

Whales. These were of a less technical character, but in no
case was the attendance so good as was anticipated.

Some of the Scientific Meetings were of general interest. On
November 3, 1891, there was exhibited, on behalf of Professor
Stirling of Adelaide, a drawing of the newly discovered mar-
supial mole (Notoryctes typhlojps), which was presented to the
Society, and is now hung in the library ; and on January 5,
1892, the Professor himself described some skins which were
laid on the table. On May 6, 1893, the Secretary exhibited
on behalf of Mr. Kowland Ward a skin of Grevy's zebra, shot
by Colonel Paget — probably the first received from Somaliland
since the species was described by Milne Edwards in 1882.
On June 16, 1896, some clever drawings by Miss Edith Durham
on the mode of feeding of the egg-eating snake (Dasypeltis
scahra) were shown, and on behalf of the artist Dr. John
Anderson read some interesting notes which she had made.
At the first meeting (January 17) in 1897 the Secretary
exhibited enlarged photographs of the same snake swallowing
an egg, and the cerastes viper, which had been fitted with
false horns. Two spines, probably from a hedgehog, had been
inserted on the top of the head behind the eyes ; one of these
had penetrated the mouth, and no doubt caused the death of
the reptile, from which the poison fangs had been removed.
He also exhibited a photograph of a young great ant-eater,
two days old, born in the Stuttgart Zoological Garden, the first
case of the kind on record.

The true story of the remains of an extinct giant ground
sloth in Patagonia was told by Dr. Moreno and Dr. A. Smith
Woodward on February 21, 1899, and a piece of the skin was
exhibited. On January 23 in the following year the last-named
author described other remains of the same animal, and bones of
others associated with it, obtained by Dr. Rudolph Hauthal,
geologist of the La Plata Museum. Ameghino's name, Neomy-
lodon, had been shown by Dr. Roth to be a synonym of Gry-
potheriuTYi, under which generic name this extinct giant ground
sloth is properly described. Dr. Moreno kindly presented a fine
collection of these remains to the British Museum (Natural
History). At the meeting on November 29, a letter from Sir
Harry Johnston to the Secretary was read, and in this " a very

220 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

remarkable new horse" from the Semliki Forest, supposed
to be the same as that mentioned by Stanley in "Darkest
Africa," was referred to. On this occasion the word " okapi "
was introduced into the English language. At a later meeting
(December 18) Dr. Sclater exhibited two native bandoliers, or
waistbelts, cut from the skin of the hind limbs of this mys-
terious " horse," the story of which belongs to the final chapter.

Eight silver medals were awarded. Mrs. Edmonston and
Mr. R T. C. Scott received this distinction in 1891 for the
effective protection accorded for sixty years to the great skua
by the families of Edmonston and Scott at Uist and Foula. In
1893 the efforts of Mr. Donald Cameron of Lochiel and Mr.
John Peter Grant of Rothiemurchus to protect the osprey in
their respective districts, were similarly recognised; and the
medal was also given to Mr. George S. Mackenzie, who had sent
many valuable animals from British Central Africa to the
Menagerie. In the following year Mr. H. H. (now Sir Harry)
Johnston received the medal for zoological investigations in
British Central Africa, as did Mr. Alexander Whyte, three years
later, for valuable services rendered to zoological science by his
researches in the same region. It was awarded to Mr. John
Ernest Matcham in 1900 in acknowledgment of his many
donations to the Society's Menagerie. During the last seven
years of the century he sent to Regent's Park 525 African
animals (57 mammals, 48 birds, and 420 reptiles).

In 1892 the "Index" to the Proceedings (1881-1890)
appeared. The ninth edition of the Vertebrate List was pub-
lished in 1896 ; it contained the names of 3,044 animals (770
mammals, 1,676 birds, 420 reptiles, 80 batrachians, and 98 fishes)
— an increase of nearly 500 species on those recorded in the
eighth edition of 1883.

With the end of the last decade the edition of the Pro-
ceedings with uncoloured plates was discontinued; and a new
series issued under the title of Proceedings of the General
Meetings for Scientific Business of the Zoological Society of
London. The volumes had gradually increased in size, and
the last six of this series each consisted of nearly eleven hundred
pages. Mr. Beddard put in about fifty papers on compara-
tive anatomy, the only pathological contribution being one in

Fhoto: Cassell & Co., Ltd.

Grevy's Zebra. (See pp. 237, 240.)

Photo : Cassell <& Co., Ltd.

Grant's Zebra. (See pp. 236, 240.)

Plate 45.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 221

conjunction with Dr. Murie."^ One of the most important pieces
of work in this decade is that on the Classification of Birds
by Dr. Gadow, which was published in the volume for 1892.
This was merely a summary of the author's view, given the
following year in full, with some slight modifications in
Bronn's " Thier-Reich."t In 1893 the Secretary's revision of
the monkeys of the genus Gercopithecus appeared. Next year
Mr. Coryndon's account of his expedition to procure museum
specimens of the white rhinoceros was published. Notes on
the Nursing Habits of some South American Tree Frogs by
Dr. Goeldi and Mr. Boulenger in the volume for 1895 are of
interest. The deposition of eggs and the carriage of tadpoles on
the back are probably to be explained in the same way as in
the Surinam toad, to which reference has already been made
(pp. 213, 214), with a citation from Bartlett's account in the
volume for the year next following. In 1896 Mr. Bateson
exhibited some pigeons showing webbing between the toes.

Mr. de Winton's paper on the Existing Forms of the Giraffe,
in 1897, is noteworthy, as are later contributions of his on the
Moult of the King Penguin. In 1897 also appeared the first
of Mr. Graham Kerr's contributions on Lepidosiren, and Mr.
Moore's paper on the Zoological Results of the Tanganyika Ex-
pedition. Mr. Oldfield Thomas described, in 1898, a new sub-
species of the giraffe, from West Africa.^ The volume for 1899
contains an interesting note by the Secretary on two musk oxen
at Woburn, probably the first to reach Europe alive ; and Mr.
E. N. Buxton's account of his visit to the forest of Bielovege,
where the European bison are preserved by the Czar. The
papers on the giant ground sloth of Patagonia, by Dr. Moreno

* Inasmuch as the subject — the African rhinoceros — died of cancer in the
stomach, the space (a little over a page) devoted to the morbid anatomy cannot
be considered excessive. There is no reference to the present whereabouts of the
preparations.

t Whether the upshot of it all has been to establish a Natural Classification,
one indicating the true descent, and the real affinities of the several groups known,
time alone will show ; but that this latest attempt has been made according to the
best method few will doubt. — Newton : " Dictionary of Birds," Introduction,
p. 103.

X A young female, purchased in April, 1905, may possibly belong to this race.
Troceedings, 1905, ii. 67.

222 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

and Dr. A. Smith Woodward, begun in this volume, were con-
ckided by the last-named author in that for 1900, which also
contains Mr. W. R Ogilvie Grant's account of the Birds of
Hainan. This was based on the collection made by Whitehead,
who died of malignant fever, a martyr of science, at
Hoihow, June 2, 1899.

The thirteenth volume of Transactions, published in 1895,
contained fifteen memoirs, illustrated by sixty-two plates. Of
these the most important were W. K. Parker's paper on the
Hoatzin, Mr. Beddard's on Anthropoid Apes ; Professor J. W.
Gregory's on Palaeogene Bryozoa, and those by Sir Edward
Newton and Dr. Gadow on the Dodo and other Extinct Birds
of Madagascar, and Dr. J. T. Jeffery Parker on the Dinornithidw.
In 1898 the fourteenth volume was completed and published,
containing eleven memoirs and forty-seven plates. The authors
were Mr. Boulenger, Dr. Brady, Dr. Bridge, Mr. Elwes, Dr.
Goeldi, Professor E. Ray Lankester, Mr. Oldfield Thomas, and
Mr. Vincent. Several of the papers dealt with Lepidosiren,
and that of Mr. Oldfield Thomas with the mammals collected
by Whitehead in the Philippines.

At the close of the nineteenth century it is convenient to
take note of the great increase in the staff in the office and at
the Gardens. In 1828 both staffs consisted of less than a dozen ;
at the end of 1900 they numbered nearly 130. At Hanover
Square were the Secretary (Dr. Sclater), the Vice-Secretary *
(Mr. Beddard, also Prosector), the Accountant (Mr. J. Barrow),
the Librarian (Mr. F. H. Waterhouse), four clerks and two
messengers. The Garden staff consisted of the Superintendent
(Mr. Clarence Bartlett), the Assistant Superintendent (Mr. A.
Thomson), store-keeper; head-gardener. Prosector's assistant,
clerk of the works, clerk in the office, twenty-one keepers,
and three money-takers. Besides these there were twenty-one
helpers or assistant keepers, two butchers, two stokers, one cook,
one messenger, one propagator, two assistant propagators, ten
labourers for garden- work, two carpenters, two bricklayers, one
smith, two wire-workers, one engine-driver, one net-worker,
eleven painters, eleven labourers, and one timekeeper — in
all 115.

* This office was revived in 1898, and again abolished in 1903 by the Re-
organisation Committee.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 223

Exhibited for the First Time. Breeding Species.

Year,

Mammals.

Birds.

Reptiles.

Total.

Mammals.

Birds.

Reptiles.

Total.

1891

1892

1893

1894

1895

1896

1897

—

1898

—

1899

1900

Animals in the Menagerie.

Year.

Mammals.

Birds.

Reptiles.

Total.

1891

630

1,346

256

2,232

1892

650

1,397

366

2,413

1893

708

1,460

356

2,524

1894

669

1,427

467

2,563

. 1895

768

1,267

334

2,369

1896

902

1,132

439

2,473

1897

792

1,362

431

2,585

1898

818

1,363

475

2,656

1899

821

1,471

461

2,753

1900

758

1,495

612

2,865

Fellowship Roll, Visitors, and Finance.

Number of

Admissions to

Income.

Expenditure.

Fellows.

Gardens.

£.

1891

2,985

598,730

24,054

23,697

1892

2,999

605,718

24,877

23,855

1893

2,985

662,649

26,217

25,278

1894

2,972

625,538

25,107

23,616

1895

3,027

665,326

26,958

25,110

1896

3,098

665,004

27,081

26,405

1897

3,158

717,755

28,713

27,705

1898

3,185

710,948

29,208

29,698

1899

3,246

696,707

28,879

29,420

190O

3,250

697,178

28,772

28,488

224

CHAPTER X.
1901-1904.

Before dealing with tlie ordinary subjects of their Report at
the Anniversary Meeting of April 29, 1901, the Council referred
to "the topic which had recently engrossed the attention of
the whole nation — the death of Her late Most Gracious
Majesty Queen Victoria" — in the following paragraph:

Queen Victoria was, as is well known, closely connected with this
Society, as its Patron since 1837, as a Donor on many occasions of valuable
gifts to the Menagerie, and up to a recent period as a frequent visitor to
the Gardens. It may interest the Fellows to learn that the last occasion
when Queen Victoria honoured the Gardens by her presence was on the
14th of March, 1877, when Her Majesty was accompanied by the Princess
Beatrice, and was conducted round the Gardens by the Secretary and late
Superintendent, Mr. A. D. Bartlett. Queen Victoria likewise visited the
Gardens on March 20, 1875, and March 26, 1874.

An address of condolence and loyalty had been previously
forwarded to the King, and the Council had " the great pleasure
of announcing that His Majesty had been graciously pleased to
become the Patron of the Society in succession to Her late
Majesty Queen Victoria." The King had been a Fellow since
1863, in which year he became Vice-Patron; the late Duke
of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (the Duke of Edinburgh) was ad-
mitted in 1866; the Duke of Connaught in 1878, and the
Prince of Wales (then Duke of York) in 1894 ; H.E.H. became
Vice-Patron in March, 1902.

Although the great contest for the Secretaryship did not
take place till the Anniversary Meeting of 1903, it was evident
about the middle of 1901 that matters were shaping for a fight.
Dissatisfaction was publicly expressed at the management of the
Gardens, and especially with the housing. A good deal of this
was unfair ; some had its origin in sentimentalism and want of
acquaintance with the conditions of the case ; and some appeared
to be the outcome of personal feeling — an attack on individuals
rather than on a bad condition of things, brought about by lack
of adequate supervisioa The strange part of the business

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 225

was the concern displayed for the better management of the
Society by men who till this time were practically unknown.
To Mr. M. D. Hill, whose action led to the discussion of grave
matters, these words, however, do not apply. At the Monthly
Meeting of June 20, 1901, he moved:

That the Council be recommended to consider the condition of the
Parrot, Kangaroo, and Fish Houses, also of the Northern Aviary, as being
of neither scientific nor educative value, and tending to the infiictioa
of needless discomfort on their occupants.

Between July 18, when the motion should have been dis-
cussed, and the November meeting, to which by consent it was
adjourned, Mr. Hill published a pamphlet, addressed to "the
President, Council, and Fellows of the Zoological Society of
London," and intended to let them know his line of argument.
It contained a protest against the exaltation of comparative
anatomy and the neglect of bionomics. Many of the " Sugges-
tions" have since been adopted, and some were under con-
sideration when the pamphlet appeared.

Nearly a hundred members were present at the meeting of
November 21, but only seven hands were held up in favour of
Mr. Hill's motion. Nothing daunted by his defeat, he at once
gave notice of two other motions :

That the Council be recommended to consider the Guide Book of the
Society.

That the condition of the Vultures' Aviary, Kites' Aviary, Small Cats'
House, Raccoons' Cages, Gulls' Pond and Seal Pond be considered as being
in an unsatisfactory condition. (Afterwards withdrawn by consent.)

With regard to the first motion, Mr. Hill had the sympathies
of many who had not the courage of their opinions ; for, as the
Field (December 21) remarked, " It is undoubtedly somewhat of
an anomaly that an officer of the Society should hold the pro-
perty of the official Garden Guide." Dr. Sclater, however, had
the winning cards, and the late Colonel Irby read an extract
from the Minutes of Council, which showed that that body
had formally acquiesced in the arrangement.

It is not clear how the question was first raised ; but at
the Council Meeting of June 20, 1866, the Secretary " read
a statement as to the history and proprietorship of the
Garden Guide." The matter was then referred to the Garden

,.#*

♦

226 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

Committee, with a request that they would report as to the
expediency of making any alterations in the arrangements.

On June 25 the Garden Committee^ met, and Dr. Sclater
put in a statement, from which it appeared that at the
Council Meeting of December 16, 1857, Mr. Gaskoin alluded
to the inconvenience felt at the absence of a Guide, and
moved "that one should be forthwith printed and published
at the Society's expense." Then the resolution given on
p. 124, as being moved by Dr. Sclater and seconded by Mr.
Gould, was adopted. Up to the date of the meeting of the
Garden Committee eighteen editions of the Guide had been
published, and the Secretary's profits for 1863, 1864, and 1865
were returned by him in his statement at £68 13s. 5d.
£88 9s. 5d., and £107 16s. 7d. respectively.! The Committee
reported that "the existing system had worked well, and
that it would not be expedient to make any alteration in it."

To return to recent times — the meeting on February 20
was chiefly noticeable for the fact that it led to an alteration
in the bye-laws. Some motions were brought forward which
appeared to be thinly veiled attacks on Dr. Sclater, and as
such they were warmly resented by a majority of the Fellows
present, notably by Sir Henry Howorth, who uttered a strong
protest. Over thirty proxies signed by lady Fellows were
tendered in support, but they were valueless; for they bore
only a penny stamp, though so widely drawn as to be
practically powers of attorney, which require a ten -shilling
stamp. As a consequence chap. iii. section 4 of the bye-
laws, giving lady Fellows the power to vote by proxy, was
repealed.}:

* Present : Viscount Walden (in the Chair), Mr. Robert Hudson, V.P., Dr.
Hamilton, and the Secretary.

t To an article in Der Zoologische Garten (1872, S. 353-364) by Herr Ernst
Friedel, the author appends a note, which is worth quotation. " Der Guide to the
Gardens of the Zoological Society of London. By Philip Lutley Sclater, von dem
1871 schon 201,000 a Sixpence verkauft waren, ist noch in vieler Beziehung-
mangelhaft. Er erhalt nicht die Namen aller Thiere, und hat, unbegreiflich, weder
ein lateinisches noch Trivials-Namens-Verzeichniss."

X Mrs. Rose Haig Thomas and Mrs. Charlotte Norman were present — the
first lady Fellows to exercise the right of personal voting — at any rate, in recent
times. It seems probable that in the early days of the Society lady Fellows
did vote ; but prolonged search at the office, No. 3, Hanover Square, has not
resulted in finding the date at which they lost the privileges referred to on p. 25.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 227

On October 15 Dr. Sclater placed his resignation in the
hands of the Council, and wished to relinquish his duties
soon after the close of the year. At the Council Meeting
of November 10 the following vote of thanks was proposed
by Dr. Henry Woodward, and carried unanimously:

The President, Vice-Presidents, and Council of the Zoological Society
desire to record their sincere regret at the retirement of their Secretary
Dr. Philip Lutley Sclater, after a service of over forty-three years.

They wish to tender him their hearty thanks for his most valuable
services to the Society during this long period, not only in the management
of the Zoological Gardens, but also in the conduct of the publications of
the Society, and in the general direction of its aflfairs.

These atfairs have prospered to a remarkable degree during his long
term of Office. The income of the Society has doubled ; the Membership
has increased from 1,500 to 3,200; and the Society's Library has been
entirely created.

Dr. Sclater's own work as a Zoologist is held in universal repute, and
it is no exaggeration to say that the very high position occupied at the
present day by the Zoological Society of London in the world of science is
largely due to the exertions and the personal character of its retiring
Secretary.

Applications for the vacant post were invited; and at the
same special meeting of Council, a Committee, consisting of
Dr. Giinther, the late Professor Howes, and Dr. Henry Woodward,
was appointed to select suitable candidates. Twenty- three appli-
cations were received, and the Committee reported to the
Council on December 17. Mr. William Lutley Sclater, son
of the late Secretary, and Director of the Museum at Cape
Town, was selected by ballot.

The retirement of Dr. Sclater was considered a good opportu-
nity of thoroughly investigating the Society's establishments at
Hanover Square and the Gardens. A Special Committee of the
Council was therefore appointed to inquire into and report on
the entire system of management. The members were: —

The Duke of Bedford, KG., Chairman.

Mr. W. E. de Winton.

Mr. Herbert Druce.

Sir Joseph Fayrer, Bart., F.R.S.

Dr. Albert Giinther, F.R.S.
* Prof. George B. Howes, D.Sc,
F.R.S.

t Lt.-Col. L. Howard Irby.
Dr. P. Chalmers Mitchell.
Mr. Howard Saunders.
Mr. Oldfield Thomas, F.R.S.
Dr. Henry Woodward, F.R.S.
Sir Harry Johnston, G.C.M.G.,
K.C.B., Secretary.

* Died February 4, 1905. f Died May 14, 1905.

228 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

The Committee examined all the principal officers and
employees of the Society, and on their evidence drew up a report
containing a number of recommendations.

The selection of Mr. W. L. Sclater as Secretary received some
attention from the Press, to which communications were made
by several prominent Fellows. Thus it was made known to
the Fellows generally that, in accordance with the bye-laws,
the selection of a Secretary by the Council need only be an
appointment ad interim. Notwithstanding the long services
of Dr. Sclater a number of Fellows, including some influential
Members of Council, thought that a more decided change in
the management of the Society was desirable than would be
likely to follow if Mr. W. L. Sclater succeeded his father. An
animated public controversy followed; eventually two candi-
dates— Mr. W. L. Sclater and the present Secretary — were
proposed to be voted on at the Annual Meeting.

Mr. W. L. Sclater was presented to the Monthly Meeting of
January 22 by the President as the new Secretary. The most
important business was the reading of the recommendations of
the Reorganisation Committee, and their ratification by the
Fellows present. The President gave a brief outline of the
work of the Committee, and Sir Harry Johnston then read
the Report, of which the principal points were :

That the Garden Committee should consider the Report with respect
to the question of dilapidations.

Definitions of the duties of the Secretary.

The retirement of the Superintendent on March 31, 1903, on a pension
of £200 a year,* and the appointment of Mr. W. E. de Winton, a Member
of Council, as Acting- Superintendent for a period of twelve months.
He would confer with the Garden Committee, and with them under-
take the reorganisation. t Till some progress had been made, and the
Council had become acquainted with the work of the new Secretary, no

* Mr. Clarence Bartlett, who was in ill-health at the time, died on May 1 ;
and a gratuity of £100 was granted to Mrs. Bartlett.

t Necessary works mentioned in the Report, whicli has not been printed and
distributed, were : Improvement of the Fencing separating the Garden from the
Park and the Road ; protection from fire, and telephonic communication with
fire stations ; immediate attention to general dilapidations ; the reconstruction of
the giraffe house, hippopotamus house, bears' dens, small cats' and small mammals'
houses; alterations at the monkey and anteloj)e houses, the fish house, and the
polar bears' dens and the provision of a paddock for wild cattle.

Prjevalsky's Horses. (See p. 237.)

Photo : Rowland Ward, F.Z.S.

The Okapi in Tring Museum. (See p. 243.)
By the kind permission of the Hon. Walter Rothschild, M.P.
Plate 47.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 229

Superintendent would be appointed. The object of this was to obviate the
difficulty which would arise if two new officers took up their respective
duties at the same time. At considerable personal inconvenience Mr.
de Winton accepted the appointment, and rendered valuable aid to the
Council and the Committee.

The appointment of a foreman keeper.*

The rearrangement of the duties of the Prosector, who ceased to be
Vice-Secretary.

The reorganisation of Committees.

The investment of composition fees.

The election took place at the Annual Meeting on April 29,
at the Portman Rooms, Baker Street. Nearly 900 Fellows
attended, though many only stayed long enough to record their
votes. No discussion of the merits of the candidates was
allow^ed; nor, indeed, was any necessary, as the Council had
distributed their application and testimonials. The figures, as
announced by the President, stood thus :

Dr. P. Chalmers Mitchell 530

Mr. W. L. Sclater 336

Majority 194

At this meeting Mr. North Buxton raised the question of
what he termed a recreation ground for the animals, and in this
he was seconded by Mr. Elwes. The President promised that
this suggestion should be carefully considered. No mention,
however, was made of the Kingston Farm Experiment. At the
Annual Meeting in 1904 the Secretary announced that the
Council had considered the establishment of a Sanatorium at
some distance from London, but were of opinion that while it
would be desirable to keep this in view, the funds of the Society
did not admit of proceeding with it at present.

Dr. P. Chalmers Mitchell assumed office on May 1. In the
Report for 1903 the Council recorded "their appreciation
of the efficient manner in which Mr. W. L. Sclater had dis-
charged his duties during the interim in which he had filled
the office of Secretary, and tendered to him their best thanks
for the services he had rendered to them and to the Society.''

♦ A temporary appointment was made at once ; and Mr. Bertling, formerly
a clerk in the office, became head-keeper in 1904, with special charge of the
birds.

290 THE ZOOLOQIGAL SOCIETY.

On Dr. Sclater's retirement a pension of £700 per annum
was granted him by the Council, but the question was raised
whether this was not in excess of their powers. Counsel's
opinion was taken, and the matter was submitted to the General
Meeting of June 18, which after the formal business at No. 3,
Hanover Square, was adjourned to the Morley Hall close by.

The question aroused a good deal of feeling among the
opposition, in which two views were held, one being that the
amount was excessive, considering that the present Secretary
received only £600 a year ; ^ and the other that the motion should
be met with a direct negative. The matter was hotly discussed,
and arrangements were made for opposing the grant. But on
the day of the meeting no one moved an amendment, for the
reason that those who had promised to support it found excuses
for not doing so.

The first business was an official reply by Dr. Chalmers
Mitchell to a question respecting the profits of the Garden
Guide. It embodied what has already been told on pp. 225, 226,
with respect to the grant by the Council to Dr. Sclater of the
right to prepare and sell a Guide, and added that in recent years
the profits had been about £400.

The President then put the motion :

That this Meeting approves of the grant by the Council of a pension
of £700 per annum to Mr. P. L. Sclater, D.Sc, F.E.S., in consideration of
his services as Secretary to the Society for forty-three years.

This was supported by Mr. E. North Buxton ; but Dr. John
Ince suggested that, considering the condition of the Society,
Dr. Sclater would probably be satisfied with a warmly worded
testimonial. Dr. Ince, who was only elected that year, spoke in
absolute good faith, and seemed astonished that his suggestion
created some amusement. Professor E. Kay Lankester seconded
the motion, which was carried without a dissentient.

Unfortunately, the matter has not been allowed to rest there.
It was a compromise, and the opportunity for objection having
gone by, it seems scarcely fair to revive the question from time
to time. The pension was voted by an influential majority, to
which the minority should bow.

* Two years later, however, the salary of the present Secretary was raised to
£800 a year.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 231

At the Gardens the new pheasantry beyond the insect house
was stocked in 1901. The two houses and paddocks in the
centre are larger than the five on each side ; and were at first
used for peafowl — Javan, black- winged, domesticated and albino
forms being represented. Of the true pheasants the following
were exhibited : Reeves's, Elliot's, Mongolian, Japanese, Soem-
mering's, Siamese, Swinhoe's, Rufous-tailed, Amherst, and Gold.

The yard for Moufflon and Punjaub sheep, just west of the
elephant house, is of this date. " Both divisions," it was said in
the Council's Report presented at the Annual Meeting of 1902,
" contain cabins covered with rockwork, so that the animals
may exercise their natural aptitude for climbing." In the
same Report there was the following description of the new
ape house:

The portion of the building devoted to the animals has been divided
into four roomy compartments, which it is believed will provide ample
accommodation for a series of the principal anthropoid apes — the orang,
the gibbon, the chimpanzee, and, it is hoped, the gorilla. The main feature
of the new building is the entire separation by a glass screen of the part
appropriated to the spectators from that in which the animals are lodged,
whereby it will be possible to keep the animals in a higher temperature
than that of the portion allotted to the spectators, and also to prevent their
infection by external influences. This plan has been lately adopted in
several ape-houses built in Holland and Germany, and will, the Council
trust, be found to answer its purpose in the present instance, although it is
to a certain extent a matter of experiment.*

The house was opened on June 25, 1902. The experiment
has not been altogether successful. There was no provision
for allowing the animals access to the open, and the arrange-
ments for unpacking and shifting leave much to be desired.
Under the new management an outside cage has been made
on the level of the lower windows, and here a large gibbon
spent the winter ; and probably some attempt will be made to
provide others. The smaller chimpanzees and orangs are now
taken out to exercise in charge of the keepers, and excite a
good deal of interest among the visitors. f

♦ It is doubtful if the apes do not lose in spirits as much as they gain in
freedom from infection, as they are all extremely curious and inquisitive, and like
to make friends with visitors. — Official Guide (1904), p. 18.

t I was much disappointed, however, to find that no facilities for open-air
exercise have been provided, as is the case in the Rotterdam Zoological Gardens. —
H. Edye, in the Standard, July 1, 1902.

232 TEE ZOOLOOIGAL SOCIETY.

In reporting on the works at the Gardens in 1903, the
Council said that very much was required to bring that part
of the estabhshment into a condition worthy of the Society.
The improvements, carried out in accordance with the Report
of the Reorganisation Committee, included repairs and restora-
tions, and better accommodation for housing. Under the
former heading a good deal of work was done; telephonic
communication was established with the fire station at Camden
Town, and hydrants and hose were provided. The Resident
Superintendent's house was thoroughly overhauled, enlarged,
and fitted with proper office accommodation.

In the North Garden the canal bank was turfed and laid
out with running water and rockwork as cranes' paddocks,
where the birds are seen to advantage in natural surroundings.
Beyond the pheasantry stables with railed courtyards were
erected to accommodate surplus stock.

The canal bank aviary, opposite the moufflons' yards, was
the most important work in the Middle Garden. It consists
of an iron framework on concrete foundations and covered
with wire netting. It is about 75 ft. long, 52 ft. wide, and
over 30 ft. high. The interior contains a number of pollarded
trees with nesting-boxes, and is laid out with running water,
making several pools, and grass and shrubs. The stock at
first consisted of crows, herons, gulls, pheasants, and parrots
(using that term in a wide sense), but is now tenanted only by
members of the last-named group. The plan of keeping these
birds in the open has been very successful. The suricates'
cage was put up in a corner of the beaver enclosure. It
now, in addition, contains a colony of prairie marmots, which
live in harmony with some burrowing owls. The outdoor
cage for hardy small mammals dates from this year, as does
the new kites' aviary on the eastern boundary walk near the
refreshment-room. The old fish house, renamed the diving
birds' house, was thoroughly restored ; and a large tank was put
up in the centre for the exhibition of the birds.

In 1904 restorations were effected in the small cats' house,
which was then used for squirrels ; elephant, giraffe, and zebra
house; Main Entrance and South Entrance lodges, bears'
den, antelope house, lion house, reptile house, and deer sheds.

PLATE XII.

THE SEA LIONS' POND.

(Seep 234.)

.»* *

• «

234 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

The new house for small mammals was built and opened.
It consists of a hall, with outbuilding for keeper, and stores.
On each side the passage for visitors is a row of cages. That
on the south contains fourteen, capable of enlargement or
division by movable compartments, each communicating by
a falling door with a cage in the open. Near this house,
which is 72 ft. long by 35 ft. wide, are two open-air en-
closures for jackals and foxes. The slope at the back of
the kangaroo sheds was cleared, enclosed, and made into a
paddock for these animals.

The house of the Assistant Superintendent was put in
thorough order, and additional rooms built. The accommo-
dation for the men, which had been inadequate, was provided
by the erection of a keepers' lodge near the main entrance.

The scheme of work arranged in the autumn for 1905 in-
cluded the thorough repair of, and additions to, the gardeners*
lodge, by the North Entrance; a new roof and flooring in the
parrot house, and the addition of outside cages. The new
works were the sea lions' pond, with the Southern or Great
Aviary, for gulls and herons, on its western side, in the South
Garden, and an owls' aviary, between the insect house and the
northern pheasantry. These have been completed and stocked;
and Cologne can no longer boast of having the finest sea-lions'
pond in Europe. The " squirrels' tree," near the diving birds*
house, was opened while these sheets were passing through the
press. With the exception of the new owls' aviary, all these
new structures are marked on the plan on the preceding page.

Lectures were delivered at Hanover Square after the
business meetings in April, May, June, and July, 1901 and
1902. The subjects in 1901 were the protection and nourish-
ment of Young Fishes, Biological Stations, mimicry, and
Rhinoceroses, and the lecturers, Professor C. Stewart, Professor
W. A. Herdman, Professor E. B. Poulton, and Mr. F. E.
Beddard. In 1902 Flying Reptiles, Horses and Zebras, the
Okapi, and Elephants were treated respectively by Professor
H. G. Seeley, Professor J. Cossar Ewart, Professor E. Ray
Lankester, and Mr. F. E. Beddard. In accordance with the
recommendation of the Reorganisation Committee, the interest
of the Davis Bequest has been devoted to other purposes.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 235

The Special Committee appointed to consider the prosec-
torial work consisted of the following Fellows :

Prof. G. B. Howes, V.P.*
Dr. H. Woodward, V.P.
Dr. Chalmers Mitchell, f
Mr. W. L. Sclater. t

Mr. F. G. Parsons.
Dr. R. N. Salaman.

This Committee and the Council resolved to appoint a
pathologist to investigate the causes of death "not only by
ordinary post-mortem examination, but by the use of the
microscope and bacteriological methods, and to point out
not only the cause of death but also how such deaths might
in the future be avoided." Other important resolutions were:

That a Prosectorial Committee should be appointed, to consist of
three members of Council and the Secretary, and that this Committee
should co-opt as members three Fellows of the Society specially in-
terested in anatomy and pathology ; That the Prosectorial Committee
should direct and control the work of the Prosectorium and of its staff
and report monthly to Council.

Dr. C. G. Sehgmann, formerly Pathologist at St. Thomas's
Hospital, became the Society's Pathologist, but did not take
up his appointment till his return from the Cancer Expedi-
tion to New Guinea. Up to the end of 1904 in the more
important deaths, the bodies were examined by Dr. K N.
Salaman.

In reporting on the work of 1903, Mr. F. E. Beddard^
head of the department, divided it into five categories:

(1) Deaths in the Menagerie and Post-mortems.

(2) Anatomical research carried out in the Laboratory.

(3) Material supplied to anatomists elsewhere and to Museums, <fec.

(4) Preservation and storing of material for anatomical and histological

work.

(5) Information given by letter or to visitors upon zoological matters.

Soon after Mr. de Winton's appointment as Acting Super-
intendent at the beginning of 1903, the storekeeper and the
clerk of works left the service of the Society. In announcing

* Died February 4, 1905. t Representing the Council.

X Lecturer on Anatomy at the London Hospital Medical College.
§ Lecturer on Anatomy at St. George's Hospital Medical School.
II Director of the Pathological Institute at the London Hospital.

236

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

that the vacancies had been filled, the Council informed the
Annual Meeting of April 29, 1904 that the changes "had
been of great advantage to the Society." Mr. de Win ton
resigned towards the close of the year, and was warmly
thanked by the Council for his services; in December the
Council selected Mr. R. I. Pocock from a large number of
candidates, for the post of Resident Superintendent, and he
commenced his duties on January 1, 1904.

The commissariat expenses for 1904 were less by £1,435
than they were in 1902, and the saving on the two articles of
meadow and clover hay in 1904 was over £850.

Grant's zebra was received in 1901. This animal, the first
of its kind to reach England, was presented to the King by
the Emperor Menelek ; it is of the Burchell type, but the
ground-colour is white, and "shadow-stripes" are absent. In
the same year a Parry's kangaroo was deposited, and marked
"new to the collection." But the type certainly lived, for a
very short period, in the Gardens in 1834. Bennett described
it,^ and named it in honour of the donor, Sir Edward (then
Captain) Parry, from whom an interesting note was read with
regard to its habits, and Owen dissected it. Many birds new
to the collection were received, including cassowaries and
parrots, the open-bill, and the painted snipe.

A fine young male eland from the Woburn herd was pre-
sented this year by the President. As particulars were given on
p. 109 of the Knowsley herd, the following statement of the
foundation and present condition of the Woburn herd, for
which the author is indebted to the Duchess of Bedford,
will be of interest. The herd was founded in 1892 wath
a pair obtained from the Zoological Gardens; since then
seventeen others have been imported. Fifty-four calves have
been born, of which thirty-two died (some shortly after birth) ;
three have been killed by accident, or slaughtered because they
were bad specimens ; ten have been sent away (mostly
in exchange for others, but three were presented to the
Australian Government). The present total consists of twenty-
eight, of which seven are males and twenty-one females.

This year the Windsor menagerie was broken up, and the

* Proceedings, 1834, p. 151.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 237

King presented the animals to the Society. The collection
was much smaller than that formerly kept there ; it consisted

of:

2 Spanish cattle.

2 Somali ostriches.
1 American bison ((^).^

3 Zebus.
3 St. Kilda sheep.

1 Black-faced kangaroo.

1 Yellow-footed rock kangaroo.

1 Grevy zebra ( $ ).

3 Nubian goats.

Early in June His Majesty visited the Gardens, and conferred
the Victorian Medal on the Superintendent.

Prjevalsky's horse came to the Gardens early in 1902, a
pair being received in exchange and another pair on deposit.f
These animals are of great scientific interest, as belonging to
a truly wild species ; but they had little attraction for the
general public. A large herd was obtained by Mr. Hagenbeck's
collectors near Kobdo, in Western Mongolia, the young ones
being taken in nooses on the end of long sticks by mounted
Mongols, and then fostered by common mares which had been
deprived of their own young. An immature proboscis monkey
was purchased soon after the ape house was opened, but its
life was short in captivity ; and a new guenon, Delme-RadclifFe's
monkey, was received, and described by Dr. Sclater.J The
King presented an equine hybrid, bred between a male Burchell
and a pony mare, that came into the British lines at the end
of the South African war. It was sent home in the hope that
Her Majesty might use it. Among the more noticeable birds
were the spotted cassowary, the pheasant- tailed ja^ana, the
racket-tailed parrot, the Galapagan barn owl, the stork-billed
kingfisher, the grey teal, and the wall-creeper ; and the reptiles
new to the collection included the strange scale-footed lizard,
the fringed gecko, and the Southern or dwarf anaconda, which
has since bred.

The King deposited in the Gardens two Gravy's zebras ( ? ? ),
sent as a Coronation gift by the Emperor Menelek. Three
American bison, from the Woburn herd, were presented by
the President; and two giraffes, for which the Society was

* Fell dead during the operation of boxing.

+ The horses in the Duke of Bedford's collection at Wobura have bred
twice. The herd was brought there in 1901, and then consisted of twelve (6 <J
and 7 9).

+ Proceedings J 1902, i. 237, pi. xxv.

238 THE ZOOLOOIGAL SOCIETY.

indebted to Colonel MacMahon, Governor of Kordofan, were
brought home by Mr. Thomson.

No very remarkable new mammal came to the Gardens
in 1903, but among the rarer species were a pair of Grevy's
zebras, presented by Lieut-Colonel Sir John Harrington, and
a fine male chimpanzee from the Albert Nyanza, the first
example received i'rom Eastern Africa. Among the birds were
the winking owl, the whistling swan, the Alaska goose, Ross's
snow goose, the Masai ostrich, the American golden plover
(captured at sea), and Scoresby's gull.

Jingo, the great African elephant, was sold to Bostock in
February, 1903. In the previous year it had shown signs of
temper, and consequently did no carrying, but was kept in its
stall, as was SufFa CuUi for a similar reason. There appears
to have been some attempt to create public excitement, but the
matter fell flat. The price was said to have "run into four figures"
— as a matter of fact, it was only £200. Jingo was taken by train
to Liverpool, shipped on board the Georgic, and died at sea.

As there was not the danger with Jingo that existed with
Jumbo, it is to be regretted that he was sold. Although in bad
condition, he was still a fine elephant, with a good pair of
tusks, and might well have been retained as making a good
show in the house.

Schweinfurth's chimpanzee from the Bagamo Forest, Uganda,
was first received in 1904, a pair having been presented by
Mr. Stanley C. Tomkins; the male is probably the largest yet
exhibited in the Gardens. Among other new species were
Pousargue's, Du Chaillu's, Wolf's and Schmidt's guenons, the
dwarf buffalo from Senegal, the ferret badger, two Turkestan
wapiti stags presented by the President, and the antelope and
Alligator River kangaroos. An example of Buffon's kob was
received in June, and reported in the Proceedings (1904, ii.
177), as new to the collection. If, however, early literature
is to be trusted, one was living in the Gardens in the 'thirties.

The specimen from which the accompanying figure * was taken was
presented to the Society by John Foster, Esq., where [i.e. in the Garden]
it lived for about three years. It was of a very savage disposition, having
during its confinement worn its horns down to within two inches of its

♦ Loui8 Fraser : "Zoologia Typica," pp. 48-49, pi. xx (London, 1849).

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 239

skull by continually striking against the bars and sides o its den. Upon
a recent visit to the Earl of Derby's aviaries at Knowsley I saw specimens
of a male and female . . . which I believe to be the same as above ;
these, together with a female, said by Mr. Ogilby to have been exhibited
in the Surrey Zoological Gardens, some ten years since, are the only
specimens I have ever seen or heard of.

The true RiippeH's colobus and the Angolan species also
figure in the list.

Among the new birds were two king birds of paradise, the
first brought alive to Europe, the PhiHppine hornbill, the
golden - throated barbet, a number of parrots, the Andaman
banded crake, and the Soudan crowned crane, which was
also new to science.^

Two young female gorillas were purchased on August 19,
but they were not in good health when they arrived; Venus,
the larger animal, died before the end of the month, and
Chloe on September 15. In both cases dysentery was the
cause of death. The skins were sent to Tring Museum.

There is little of importance to chronicle about the births
in 1901 ; but in the following year a brindled gnu calf was
thrown, and there was a litter of red river-hogs. In neither
case was it the first occurrence of the kind ; but both are
worth mention. Much more important was the birth of an
elephant calf, the first instance in the Gardens. The dam
belonged to Messrs. John Sanger and Sons, and was deposited
by them on September 19, 1901. The young elephant, though
of full term, was dead when found by the Assistant Super-
intendent.f

Losses by death were heavy, and included the giraffe and
proboscis monkey already mentioned, and a Grevy's zebra.

A hybrid waterbuck, between the West African sing-sing
{$) and the common waterbuck ( $ ) was born in October,
1903. In colour it favoured the dam, but there was prac-
tically no trace of the elliptical white rump mark, probably
indicating reversion to the original colour.

The fine well-grown Polar bear, which had been a public
favourite, died suddenly on November 1. Mr. Salaman's post-
mortem showed that the cause of death was the rupture of

* Dr. P. Chalmers Mitchell in Froceedings, 1904, ii. 200.
t Proceidings, 1902, ii. 320.

240 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY,

"♦>
an aneurysm of the aorta into the thoracic cavity.^ In the
Proceedings (1834, p. 9) is a note by Mr. W. C. L. Martin
on an aortic aneurysm in a brown coati ; and at the scientific
meeting of January 19, 1904, others, from the collection of
the Royal College of Surgeons, were exhibited by Mr. Macleod
Yearsley.

Owing to more favourable weather the breeding season of
1904 was better than that of 1903 ; but the Council expressed
the hope that part of the results might " be attributed to im-
proved conditions and management." Two lion and three
leopard cubs were born; the first-named were imperfectly
formed and died soon after birth ; the latter were eaten by
the dam. Eight timber wolves were born in 1903, but all
died; a similar litter was thrown in 1904, and of these four
were left with the mother, and the other four, which proved to
be the stronger animals, were reared by a collie. In all, five
attained maturity. The Duke of Bedford's, Altai, and Japanese
deer bred, and a hybrid was produced between the last-named
species {$) and a Formosan deer ( $ ). The . breeding of the
screamers has been mentioned; three chicks were hatched,
and two lived for some months. Three cases of hybridity in
doves are worth record,t and there were a good number of
pheasants reared.

The value of the birds reared in 1904 was £173 10s., which
is in striking contrast with the return (£8 5s.) for 1903. There
Avould seem to be no reason why surplus stock, as a result
of breeding, should not be an important source of revenue,
as it is, for instance, at the Antwerp Garden.

Besides the two gorillas, the Society lost this year an
orang and a chimpanzee. A Grant's zebra, and the Grevy's
zebra ( $ ) presented by Sir John Harrington, were also among
the losses ; the latter was said by some to have died from in-
juries received during breaking and training. Of this there
is no evidence. It is to be regretted that so valuable an
animal was made the subject of experiment — at any rate, till
Milne, who had been successful with a young mare, had tried

* Proceedings, 1903, ii. 348.

t Dwarf turtle S x Barbary turtle $ ; Barbary turtle $ x half- collared turtle-
dove 9 ; and green- winged dove 6 X Christmas Island dove 9.

TEE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 241

and failed. After being handled by Captain Hayes on
Thursday, March 17, the stallion trotted back from the
paddock apparently as well as ever. On Sunday morning
he did not get up, and died the same evening.

Mr. Salaman made the post-onortem on March 23; and
found the immediate cause of death to be heart failure, which
could not be explained. An official report said:

It is obviously impossible to be certain that the death was unconnected
with the breaking in, but it is satisfactory to know that there was no sign
of any injury to any of the internal organs, although the bones were un-
usually brittle, and the stallion was much older than had been supposed,
or any indication that could in any way reflect on the judgment and skill
of Captain Hayes.

Since then nothing has been done to utilise the zebra stock
for draught, saddle, or parade. Strong opinions have been
expressed as to the wisdom or unwisdom of attempting to
train these animals for display purposes. It must be borne in
mind that the Society had long been urged to " do something "
with their fine equine stock. Anything was better than the
old policy of " masterly inactivity " ; and though everyone
deplores the result, it should in fairness be remembered that
the authorities had the sanction of Professor Cossar Ewart and
Captain Hayes for their line of action.

That zebras can be broken to draught is well known. The
Hon. Walter Rothschild's team is a case in point. A pair
belonging to the Jardin d'Acclimatation are often driven
through the streets of Paris. The late Mr. Cross, of Liverpool,
used to drive a pair in 1886 from the Shipperies Exhibition
down to his menagerie ; and within the last six years Mr.
W. Simpson Cross has had seven broken to harness so that
they would go anywhere and everywhere amongst the Liverpool
traffic. " In February, 1903," he writes, " they worked practi-
cally the whole day for one of our present Members of Parlia-
ment, taking voters to the poll just as horses might do."

Jim, the famous Indian rhinoceros, which had been pre-
sented in July, 1864, died in December, 1904, having been
more than forty years in the Gardens, of which he was the
oldest inhabitant. Guy Fawkes, the hippopotamus, born Novem-
ber 5, 1872, succeeded to that distinction ; and Suffa Culli, the
Q

242 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOGIETY.

female Indian elephant presented by the King (then the Prince
of Wales) on July 24, 1876, comes next.

In the summer of 1901 a tablet was erected in the meeting
room by the Council as a memorial to Sir William Flower.^
It bears the following inscription :

This Tablet is erected by the Zoological

Society of London to the memory of

SIR WILLIAM IL FLOWER, K.C.B., LL.D., F.R.S.,

ITS LATE President, in recognition of

his great EMINENCE AS A ZOOLOGIST AND

IN GRATITUDE FOR THE VALUABLE SERVICES

RENDERED TO THE SOCIETY THROUGHOUT

THE TWENTY YEARS DURING WHICH HE OCCUPIED

THE Presidential Chair. 1879-1899.

On June 19, 1902, the Gold Medal was presented to
Sir Harry H. Johnston, who had received the Silver Medal
in 1894. " Since that date," said the Council's Eeport :

Sir Harry has not ceased in his endeavours to promote the advance of
zoological discovery in the several posts he has occupied in various parts of
Africa ; and has especially distinguished himself by the discovery on the
confines of Uganda of the wonderful new African animal the okapi. Sir
Harry has also been a frequent and generous contributor to our living
collection.

At the same meeting the Silver Medal was awarded to
Mr. Edmund William Harper of Calcutta, who had presented
to the Society a large number of Indian birds new to the
Collection, and taken great pains to ensure their safe transport
to this country. It was also given to Mr. Arthur Thomson,
Assistant Superintendent, at the Monthly Meeting, March 17,
1904, in consideration of his faithful services to the Society
for a period of thirty-four years.

* Sir Stamford Raffles is the only other President whose services have been
commemorated (see p. 159), and his bust in the lion house was the gift of a
member of his family, not an official memorial. With the revival of the
Society's bionomical work, one would like to see some lasting monument to
Lord Derby, who was an original member of the Society, A panel should
record the term of office of every President and Secretary.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 243

Lady Flower was made an Honorary Fellow in February,
1901, and in the following year His Highness Sir Prabhu
Narani Singh, Bahadur, G.C.I.E., Maharajah of Benares, who had
kindly promised to supply the Society with Indian elephants
whenever they might be required, was elected an Honorary
Member of the Society.

The Scientific Meeting of May 7 will always be remembered
by those who took part in it. Dr. Sclater exhibited a drawing
of the Okapi by Sir Harry Johnston, who, in a letter to the
Secretary, suggested that this wonderful new mammal was
allied to some extinct form of giraffe. Two skulls and a skin
sent by him were received at the British Museum on June
17, and were exhibited at the Scientific Meeting on the
following evening on behalf of Professor E. Ray Lankester,
who established the genus Okcqna for the new mammal. That
skin, now in the British Museum, was mounted by Mr. Rowland
Ward, as was Mr. Rothschild's specimen (Plate 47).

Africa yielded something else of interest from the Semliki
and other Central forests. During Stanley's expedition for
the relief of Emin in 1888-90 he heard vague stories of a large
pig-like animal, and the natives gave him highly- coloured
accounts of its size and ferocity. Similar stories were after-
wards brought to Sir Harry Johnston, to Mr. F. J. Jackson,
the late Mr. W. D. Doggett, and others. Lieut. R. Meinertz-
hagen, of the East African Rifles, heard about this animal, and
secured a perfect and an imperfect skull and pieces of skin,
which he presented to the Natural History Museum. The
skulls were exhibited at the Scientific Meeting of November 15,
1904, by Mr. Oldfield Thomas, who described and named the
animal Meinertzhagen's forest-pig, in honour of the discoverer.

Another noteworthy meeting was that of December 13, 1904,
at which Hon. Walter Rothschild proposed a revision of the
anthropoid apes. The paper was illustrated by a very fine
collection of gorillas and chimpanzees, consisting of mounted
specimens, skeletons and skulls, together with a number of
life-size drawings. In this revision Mr. Rothschild followed
Professor Matschie in separating the gibbons from the other
anthropoids ; but the most important part consisted of pro-
posed changes of nomenclature.

244 TEE ZOOLOOIGAL SOCIETY.

In 1901 the " Record of Progress " was published. The fifth
edition of the Library Catalogue came out in the autumn of
1902; the titles of about 11,000 books were given, exclusive
of periodicals, to which a separate section was devoted. This
is by far the largest and best collection of zoological works in
this country, with the possible exception of that at the
Natural History Museum, and now contains upwards of 26,000
volumes.

In Plate 50 there is a small and a large pile of books on the
table in the foreground on the right. The former represents
the Society's publications for the first decade (1831-40) and
the latter for the decade 1891-1900.* Also in 1902 were pub-
lished the "Index" to the Proceedings (1891-1900) and the
" Index Zoologicus," containing in alphabetical order the names
of new genera and sub-genera entered in the "Record" (1880-
1900).

The late Secretary gave over the Guide entirely to the
Society from the date of his quitting office. A new Guide was
prepared by the present Secretary, and the copyright is the
property of the Society. Of this three editions have been
issued. Full profits accrued to the Society from the beginning
of 1904, in which year pictorial postcards were prepared and sold.

At the end of the last decade it was decided that in
future the Proceedings should consist of two volumes for
each year, the matter being too much for inclusion in one.
Beyond the subjects already alluded to as having been brought
forward at the scientific meetings, the following papers are
worth mention: Dr. Andrews, on Palseontological Discoveries
in the Fayum ; Mr. Boulenger, on the Ichthyology of the Congo ;
Mr. Budgett's account of his Journey to Uganda; Dr. Goeldi,
on the Rediscovery of Binomys ;f Mr. Lydekker, on the Sub-

♦ Ten large octavo volumes are needed to make this pile complete, for by an
oversight the " Record " was omitted.

t This is an extremely rare South American rodent, described by Peters about
thirty years ago, since which period no other example had been met with till a pair
were sent to Dr. Goeldi, early in 1904. The story is not without a certain comic
element, for the collector who obtained the type-specimen, killed it with " two
powerful sabre strokes." Its rediscovery has shown that, so far from being
ferocious, this rodent, which is like a pa.ca with a tail, is good-tempered and
peaceful.

THE ZOOLOOIGAL SOCIETY. 245

species of the Nubian Giraffe ; Dr. Forsyth-Major, on Remains
of the Okapi in the Tervueren Museum; and Dr. A. Smith
Woodward, on Fossil Remains from Patagonia, and PHocene
Remains from Teruel.

In 1901 the fifteenth volume of Transactions appeared,
containing eight papers, illustrated by fifty-two plates. The
most important memoir was that of the Hon. Walter Roth-
schild on the Cassowaries, all the known species well illus-
trated by coloured life-size plates of the head and wattles.
This part cost nearly £900, of which the author contributed
£450.^ Next come Dr. Andrews's paper on the Extinct Birds
of Patagonia, and that of Mr. Boulenger on the Ichthyology
of Lake Tanganyika. The sixteenth volume, published in 1903,
contained nine papers and thirty- eight plates. Professor Ray
Lankester's monograph on Okapia stands first ; the papers by
Howes, on the Development of the Skeleton of the Tuatara ;
J. S. Budge tt,t on the Breeding Habits of some West African
Fishes, and Mr. Boulenger, on the Ichthyology of Lake
Tanganyika, are of some considerable value.

New arrangements were made with printers, artists, and
engravers, and these have effected "a very considerable
economy."

At the beginning of 1903 a professional auditor was ap-
pointed. The accounts are now made up on an Income and
Expenditure basis, instead of the old system of Receipt and
Payments. The Composition account has been worked out by
the Auditors on a fifteen-years' basis, only £2 being taken
annually for the Income account. This is supplemented by
the undrawn balances of Compounders dying in each year.
Changes have also been made with regard to the banking
account. Formerly definite sums were borrowed at interest,
but now an overdraft has been arranged, and only on this is
interest charged.

* The birds had been deposited in the Gardens ; and, important as these were,
they form but a very small part of the animals which Mr. Eothschild has from time
to time entrusted to the care of the Society.

t One of the martyrs of science. He died January 19, 1904, the day on which
he was to have laid before the Society an account of the material procured in Nigeria
in the previous autumn (see note on p. 176). One would like to see some record of
Forbes and Budgett in the Meeting Room.

246

THE ZOOLOQIGAL SOCIETY.

The appreciation of the work of the Re-organisation Com-
mittee by the public and the Press has been marked, so that in
April, 1905, the Council were able to congratulate the Fellows
on the prosperous condition of the Society. They expressed
the belief that a continuance of the same vigorous policy, com-
bined with a careful scrutiny of expenditure, would lead to
still better results ; and no doubt they will achieve the success
they undoubtedly deserve.

Exhibited for the First Time.

Breeding Species.

Year

Mammals.

Birds.

Reptiles.

Total.

Mammals.

Birds.

Reptiles.

Total.

1901

1902

, ,

1903

1904

...

Animals in the Menagerie.

Year.

Mammals.

Birds.

Reptiles.

Total.

1901

789

1,575

558

2,922

1902

735

1,498

550

2,783

1903

683

1,324

492

2,499

1904

640

1,448

343*

2,431

Fellowship Roll, Visitors,

AND Finance.

Year.

No. of
Fellows.

Admissions to
Gardens.

Income.

Expenditure.

1901
1902
1903
1904

3,338
3,413

3,481
3,557

725,685
694,496
657,208
706,074

29,350

29,077
30,057
31,528

32,056
32,458
30,143
33,545

* Including Amphibia ; 121 fishes were also returned, bringing the total up to
2,542.

247

INDEX.

Adhela Presented, 115

Admission to Gardens, Conditions of, 34, 95, 96

Albert, Prince, becomes President, 103 ; Visits

Gardens, 105 ; Death of, 126
Alice Purchased, 137 ; Accident to her Trunk, 163
Alligator, Chinese, Introduced, 184
Animals Kept at Tower and Exeter 'Change, 23 ;

Placard Against Teasing, 57 ; Proposed for

Introduction, 67 ; List of. Published, 100.
AnncUes des Scioices, on Proceedings, 76 ; on

Transactions, 78
Anoa Introduced, 160
Ant Bear, Cape, Introduced, 142
Ant-eater, Great, Introduced, 113

, Two-toed, 115

Aneurysms, 240

Antelope, Beatrix, Introduced, 117

, Nagor, Introduced, 184

, Pleasant, 212 (Note)

, Saiga, Introduced, 136

, Selous', Introduced, 183

, House, Completed, 108, 127 ; Stock in, 128 ;

its Defects, 231
Apteryx, Owen's, Introduced, 142; Southern

Introduced, 112
Aquarium, 107 ; Influence of, 108
Aquavivarium (Aquarium]

Atlienceum, Notice of "Gardens of the Society," 49
"Atlantis," Quotation from, 116 (Note)
Auckland, Earl, Founder, 103 (Note)
Auditor, Professional, Appointed, 245
Audubon and his Pictures, 27
Auk, Great, 120
Aviary, Eastern, Rebuilt, 128.

, New, or Night-herons' pond, 180

, Western, commenced, 83

, completed, 107

, Canal Bank, 232

, Owls', 234

, Southern, 234

Aye-aye, Introduced, 133

Babirusa, Introduced, 65

Band, Military, Proposal to Engage, 66 ; Provided,
95

Bandstand Presented, 160

Banking Account, Changes in, 245

Barbary Sheep Yard Made, 202

Barlow, Rev. J., Appointed Secretary, 25

Barrow, Mr. John, Accountant, 152

Bartlett, A. D., Prize-winner, 96 ; Appointed
Superintendent, 104 ; on Prongbuck Shedding
Horns, 136 ; Report on Jumbo's Condition,
185 ; on the Removal of Jumbo, 191 ; on
Bovine Hybrids Bred in the Gardens, 197 ; on
Sally, 197 ; on the Surinam Toad, 213 : Death
of, 200

Bartlett, Clarence, Sent to Surinam, 138 ; to Cal-
cutta, 139; Returns with the King's Indian
Collection, 164; Appointed Assistant-Super-
intendent, 152 ; Superintendent, 201 ; Retire-
ment on Pension, 228 ; Death of, 228 (Note)

Bear, "Arctic," 57

, Polar, Den and Bath, 82 ; Escape of, 112 ;

Death of, from Ruptured Aneurysm, 239

Beddard, Mr. F. E., Appointed Prosector, 176;
Edits " Record," 195

Bedford, Eighth Duke of. Letter to Yarrell, 67,

, Duke of, Elected President, 201

Bell, T,, on the Grison, 5

Bennett, E. T., Vice-Secretary, 33 ; " Gardens of
the Society Delineated," 49 ; Founds Library,
52, 59 ; Death of, 53

Benstead, Mr., Collector, 130 ; his Advertisement,
132

Birds Added to British List by Linnean Zoological
Club, 5

Birds-of-Paradise, Lesser, Introduced, 134 ; King,
239

Bishop's Wig taken by Wandaroo, 29

Bison, European, Shed for, 83 ; Introduced, 87

Boa, Cannibal, 215

"Bonassus," 40

Bonhote, J. L. , on Sabine's Snipe, 5 '

Boulger, Mr. D. C, on Sir Stamford Raffles, 7, 22

Bower-bird, Silky, Introduced, 89

Breeding List, First, 68

Brunei, M. I., on Museum, 74

Brush-turkeys, Introduced, 89 ; Breed, 116

Bruton Street, No. 33, taken, 23 ; Museum at, 24 ;
Animals at, 28 ; Office, crowded, 74

Burchell, on the Zebra, 4

Burdett, Mr. H. C, and the Jumbo Agitation,
189, 190

Burrhel Sheep Yard, 179

Burton, Decimus, his Plans Approved, 23 ; his
Plans Lithographed, 27 ; Literary Gazette on,
28 ; Architect to the Society, 43

Canal Bridge built, 153

Cape Jumping Hare, Introduced, 211

Carnivora, Open-air Arrangement for, Suggested,

108
Carp Bred, 40
Carshalton Ponds, 15
Cattle, White Park, 183
Charter Granted, 34
Chimpanzee, The First, 59 ; Sally Purchased, 181 ;

Died, 215 ; East African, 238 ; Schweinfurth's,

238
Chitty, Mr. Justice, Decision in the Jumbo Case,

190
Clerk, Sir George, elected President, 126 ; Death

of, 126
Cobra, King, Feeding on Living Snakes, 216
Colin, Virginian, 48

248

INDEX.

Colobus Ursine, Introduced, 84; Ruppell's, 209,
289 ; Angolan, 289

Committee of Science and Correspondence and
Their Duties, 47

Committees Appointed, 28

Composition Account, 245

Comyns, Mr. Alexander, Organises Poultry Show,
198

Condor, Nesting of, 87

Corresponding Members First Elected, 25 ; In-
structions to, 2(5

Council, The First, 21 ; First Report, 26 (Note) ;
Control of, 122

Cranes' Paddocks, 232

Crisp, Dr. E., Pathological Papers, 123, 146

Cross, Edward, Leaves Exeter 'Change, 1 (Note),
34; Menagerie Removed to King's Mews,
1 (Note); Offers Stock. 19 ; Offers Services
as Manager, 23 ; Duplicates Offered to, 57

Crossbill, Yarrell on, 4

Ciu^ssows, Proposed Domestication of, 49 ;
Breeding of, 71

Daily Telegraph on Popular Lectures in the

Ganiens, 196
Daisy, Ward's Giraffe, 207
Dasypeltis scabra, 219
Davis Bequest Received, 145

Lectures, 154, 169, 195, 218, 234

Davy, Sir Humphry, and Raffles as Founders,

16,76
De Win ton, Mr. W. E., on Existing Forms of

Giraffe, 221 ; Appointed Acting-Superintend-
ent, 229 ; Resigned, 236
Deer, Blackish, Introduced, 143 ; Pere David's,

142 ; Prince Alfred's, 143 ; Duke of Bedford's,

209

, Red, Acclimatised in New Zealand, 135

Derby, Earl of, Original Member, 13; Elected

President, 51 ; on Sandwich Island Goose, 58 ;

Death of, 103; Founder, 103; Bequest of

Elands to Society, 108 ; Elands Introduced

by, 109
Dies for Medal, Executed by Wyon, 66
Documents Destroyed by Monkeys, 28 (Note)
Donations to Dublin and Paris, 45
Doves, Hybrid, 240 (Note)
Drainage, 105 ; Question Settled, 203
Drummond, Messrs., Appointed Bankers, 17

, Mr. Charles, Treasurer, 51

Duck, Mandarin, Introduced into England, 72
Dufour's Place, Museum Collection Stored in, 98
Duplicates Offered to Cross, 57 ; Sent to Dublin, 57
Dynorays, Rediscovery of, 244

Eagle, Wedge-Tailed, Lays Eggs, 94

Eagles, White-Headed, Nest, 86

Echidna, Introduced, 86

Egyptian Hall, Offered for Museum, 74

Eland, Livingstone's, Introduced, 206

Elands, Knowsley Herd of, 109 ; Wobum Herd

of, 236
Elephant, African [Alice, Jingo, Jumbo]

House, First, 55, 56 ; New and Stock, 130

•^—, Indian, 57 ; Cakes for, 57 ; Jack, Death of,
88 ; and Calf Purchased, 110 ; Dies from
Fright, 117 ; Treads on a Keeper who is
Fatally Injured, 165 ; Two Presented to Berlin

Garden by the King, 165; «* White," 178;

Calf Born, 239
Erain Pasha, on the Striped Hyaena in East

Africa, 198
Equus hemionus, 56
Exit Gate into the Mall, 56
Expenditure, J. E. Gray's Protest, 122 [see Income

AND Expenditure]
Explosion on Powder-barge, 154

Farini on American System of Managing
Elephants, 189

Farm, Inquiry for, 32 ; Established at Kingston
Hill, 41 ; Objects of, 43 ; Statt and Stock at,
69 ; Visitors at, 72 ; given up, 73 ; Suggested
Re-establishment of, 229

Fellows' Tea Pavilion Opened, 203

Fellowship Roll, 1827-30, 50 ; 1831-40, 79 ; 1841-
50, 102 ; 1851-60, 125 ; 1861-70, 149 ; 1871-80,
174; 1881-90, 199; 1891-1900, 223; 1901-4,
246

Fish-Culture, 43 (Note)

House, Tank for Diving Birds, 177 ; Restor-
ation of, 232

, Living, First Photograph of, 107

Flower, Sir William, on Sir Stamford Raffles, 10 ;
Elected President, 150 ; his Presidential
Work, 151 ; Death of, 201 ; Tablet to, 242

Forbes, W. A., Prosector, 152 ; Obituary Notice
of, 176

Forest-pig, Meinertzhagen's, 243

Fossa, Introduced, 184

Founder, Title Officially Applied to Sir Stamford
Raffles, 51

Founders, Raffles and Vigors, 98

, [see Davy, Sir Hum])hry, Derby, Earl of,

Vigors, N.A.]

Eraser, Louis, Museum Curator, 54; his "Zoo-
logia Typica," 84 ; List of Vertebrated
Animals, 145

Gadow, Dr. Hans, on the Classification of Birds,

221
Gallinule, Island-hen, 131
" Gardens of the Society Delineated," 49
Garrod, A. H,, appointed Prosector, 151 ; Death

of, 152
Gaur, Introduced, 183
General Meeting, Invitation to First, 19 ; First,

20
Gibbon, Hainan, 204; Siamang, Introduced, 208;

Siamese, 182
Offered by Traill, 45 ; Offers to Sell to the

Society, 61 ; Arrival of Thibaut's Herd, 63 ;

Tabular History of the Herd, 64 ; Cross Offers

to Buy on Council's Terms, 64 ; Birth of, 64 ;

Death of, 64 ; Second Herd Dies Out, 215 ;

Young Male Purchased, 211 ; Injury to Neck,

and Death, 211 ; Jubilee, 208

, Purchased from Hagenbeck, 210

Giraffe-House, Orang Kept in, 55 ; Fire in, 138
Giraffes, Obtained by Warwick for Cross, 64 ; pre-
sented to Society by Col. Macmahon, 238
"Gleanings from Knowsley," 70
Gnu, Brindled, Introduced, 117
Goat and Sheep Cross, 70
Goose, Sandwich Island, 58

INDEX.

249

Gorilla, Woiubwell's, 146, 172; Falkenstein's,

174 ; the First Received, 182 j Jenny, 207 ;

Venus and Chloe, 239
Goss, a Keeper, Killed by an Elephant, 165
Gould, John, First Connection with the Society,

83 ; Goes to Australia, 53 ; his Humming

Birds, 105
Grants in Aid of Science, 195, 218
Ground, Application for, 17 ; Extension of, 54 ;

Re-arrangement of, 130

sloth, Giant, 219

Guide, First, by Vigors and Broderip, 85 ;

Receipts from, 41 ; Dr. Sclaters Resolution

on, 124 ; his Receipts from, 226, 230 ; Rights

in. Resigned by Dr. Sclater, 244

to Fish-honse, 124 ; to Insect-house, 177

, Official, 244

Guy Fawkes Born, 162

Haddbn, Miss Nellie, Presents Portrait of Queen
Victoria's Gr^vy Mare, 217

Hanover Square, No. 11, taken, 99 ; No. 11, Pur-
chase of Freehold, 168 ; No. 8, Purchased, 194

Hare and Rabbit, Supposed Hybrid, 71 ; Owen
on, 71

Harting, J. E., on Sabine's Snipe, 5

Hill, Mr, M. D., Motions as to Housing of
Animals and the Gardens Guide, 225

Hippopotamus (Obaysch), Presented by Abbas
Pasha, 90 ; Arrival in the Gardens, 91 ; Female
(Adhela) Presented, 115; "A Howl from"
116 ; Petherick's, 121 ; Calf born, 163 ; Second
born, 161 ; Guy Fawkes born, 162 ; Death of
Obaysch, 166

Hogs, Pygmy, 181

Home "Orion," 92

Horse, Prjevalsky's, 237; Breeds at Woburu,
237 (Note)

Horsfleld, Dr., Resigns Vice-Secretaryship, 33

Horticultural Society, Meeting at Rooms of, 17

Humming Birds, Gould's, 105

Huxley, First Paper, 100 ; on Classification of
Birds, 146

Income and Expenditure, 1827-30, 50 ; 1831-40,

79 ; 1841-50, 102 ; 1851-60, 125 ; 1861-70, 149 ;

1871-80, 246; 1881-90, 199; 1891-1900, 223;

1901-4, 175
Income, Decrease of, 97

" Index Generum etSpecierum Animalium," 218
Indian Collection (1868) arrives, 139; brought

home (1864), the King's, 135
Inglis, Sir R. H., 17
Insect-house opened, 176; Guide to, 177

Jack, Maltese, Purchased, 70

Jim, the Rhinoceros, 135, 241

Jingo, Sold, 238

Johnson, Edward Amond, First Superintendent.

31
Johnston, Sir Harry, Discovery of the Okapi, 219,

243 ; Gold Medal Presented to, 242
Jubilee Meeting in Gardens, 192

Jumbo, Received in Exchange, 137 ; Becomes
Dangerous, 185 ; Sale of, 186 ; Opposition to
Sale of, 187 ; Subject of a Chancery Suit, 189 ;
Removal of, 191

Jung Pershad, Death of, 216

Kaqu, Introduced, 134

Kakapo, Note on, 100

Keeper, Killed by Cobra, 112

Keepers' Lodge Built, 234

Kiang, 56-57; 119

King Edward VII. ; Becomes Fellow and Vice-
Patron, 224 ; his Indian Collection Deposited,
164 ; Exhibited, 165 ; Animals Piesented by,
165; Gifts in 1879, 167; Gold Medal Present-
ed to, 168 ; Visits the Gardens, 217, 237 ;
Confers Victorian Medal on Mr. Clarence
Bartlett, 237

Kingston Hill (see Farm).

Kiwi, Skins of, Presented, 75

Klipspringer, Introduced, 207

Knowsley Menagerie Stock Sold, 111

Kob, Buffon's, 238

Ladies Entitled to Full Privileges, 25, 226

Lake in Regent's Park Transferred to Society, 29,
30 ; Stock on, in 1832, 59

Landseer, Thomas, his Designs for Medal Ap-
proved, 66

Lankester, Professor E. Ray, on Zoological Gar-
dens, 25 ; Establishes the Genus Okapia, 243

Lansdowne, Marquess of. Elected President, 25 ;
Resigns, 51

Lecomte and his Sea Lion, 138 ; goes to Falkland
Islands, 139 ; Return, 141

Leicester Square, No. 28, Taken for Offices, 75 ;
Given Up, 98

Leigh, Mr. J. H., Accountant, Resigns, 152

Leopard, Clouded, Introduced, 115

Library, Founded by Bennett, 52, 99 ; Increased
Accommodation for, 168; First Catalogue,
124 ; Supplement to, 145 ; Second and Third
Editions, 170; Fourth Edition, 197; Fifth
Edition, 244

Linnean Society, Zoological Club of, 2 ; Original
Members and Officials of, 3 ; Objects of, 3 ;
Starting Point of the Zoological Society, 3
(Note) ; Chairmen of, 6 ; Addresses, 6 ; Mem-
bers Co-workers with Raffles, 8-10

Lion, Gujerat, 116 ; Kathiawar, 217 ; Kriiger's,
212 ; Mesopotamian, 115

House, 155 ; Shifting Animals to, 156 ; First

Stock in, 157 ; Outside Cage, 157.

Llama-house Rebuilt, 203

Literary Gazette, on First General Meeting, 22 ;
Decimus Burton's Plans, 28 ; on^the Gardens,
97 ; on the Museum, 99

Lizard, Heloderm, 181 ; Frilled, 207

Lung-fish, Australian, Introduced, 210

Lyi-e-bird Introduced, 140

Main Entrance, New Lodges at, 128
Maleo, Introduced, 89
Mallee Hen, Introduced, 115
Manatee, Attempts to Introduce, 138 ; Introduced
162

250

INDEX.

Manatee, Clawless, Introduced, 207

Medal, Landseer's Design Approved, 66

, Silver, B'irst Presentc<l, 87

Medallists, 1851-60, 121; 1861-70, 143; 1871-80,
169; 1881-90, 193 ; 1891-1900, 220 ; 1901-4, 242

Meetings, Business, 27 ; at Burlington House, 144

Meinertzhagen, Lieut. R., 243

Members, Fiist Printed List of, 83

Menagerie Stock, Tabulated Statement of 1831-40,
79; 1841-50, 102; 1851-60, 126 ; 1861-70, 148 ;
1871-80, 174, 175 ; 1881-90, 199 ; 1891-1900 ;
223 ; 1901-4, 246

Miller, Alexander, Appointed Superintendent, 34 ;
Pensioned, 104

Misselbrook, Benjamin, Pensioned, 176

Mitchell, D. W., Appointed Secretary, 80; Re-
tirement of, 104; his "Tryal Place for
Beasts and Fishes," 116 ; Retired, 104 ;
Thanks of Council to, 104 ; Appreciation of
his Work, 144

Mitchell, Dr. P. Chalmers, his First Paper, 198 ;
Elected Secretary, 229

Monkey, Brazza's, 207 ; Green, 89

House, First and Second, 56 ; Present, 129

L'hoest's, 209 ; Said to Have Destroyed Vouch-
ers, 28; Stairs's, 204, 205; Proboscis, 237;
Tcheli, Kept in the Open, 202

Mole Marsupial, 219

Morrison James, Appointed Treasurer, 47; Re-
signed, 61

Moti, the Pearl, 207

Murie, Dr., First Prosector, 127 ; Resignation of,
127

Musk Deer Introduced, 147

Musk-Oxen at Woburn, 221

Museum, Opened, 24, 25 ; Donors to, 33 ; Museum
Contrasted with British Museum, 74 ; Gifts
from Government to, 74 ; Darwin on, 75 ;
Collections in 1840, 77; Valued by Gould
and Westwood, 98; Collections Stored in
Dufour's Place, 98 ; Transferred to Gardens,
99; closed, and Types Sent to British Museum,
123

Naples Zoological Station, 170

North Entrance Opened, 153

North, now Middle Garden, New Buildings in
(1831-1840), 55

Nubian Giraffe, George the Fourth's, 50 ; Painted
by II. B. Davis, 30 ; Bifoliate Tooth Described
by Davis, 30 ; Roughly Treated by the Arabs,
80 ; Skin and Skeleton Offered to Society, 45 ;
Skinned by Gould, 46 ; Preserved in the
Museum, 46; Bought by Crisp, Preface, p.viii;
Note on, 64

Occurrence Sheet, First, 31

Ogilby, Resigns Secretaryship, 80

Okapi, 220, 243

Okapia, 243

Orang, Swinton's Spirit Specimen, 46 ; First

Living Specimen, 46; First Exhibited, 65;

Jenny, 85
Orangs sent by Rajah Brooke, 83
Orders abolished, 96
Ostrich, the Queen's, 205

House Built and Opened, 203

Owen, Mr. (afterwards Sir) Richard, First Paper,

48 ; Order Signed by, 70 ; Unpaid Prosector,
77 (Note); Injures His Hand in Securing
Elephant's Bram, 88 ; on Obaysch, 91 ; Ridea
on Tortoise, 94 ; In Favour of " Open-air "
System for Animals, 206

Oxford, Bishop of. Attack on Huxley, 127

Owls' Aviaries, Old, 153 ; New, 234

Pall Mall, No. 57, Taken, 98

Park;Street, Stable for.Tender Animals in, 32

Parrot-house, 106

Pathologist Appointed, 235

Pathology, Comparative, and the Pathological

Society, 194
Penguin, King, Introduced, 187
Penguins, Boiled Down for Oil, 142
Pelicans, Nesting at the Tower, 58 ; Breeding at

Rotterdam, 58 (Note)
Pheasant, Amherst, Introduced, 142; Argus,

Introduced, 65 ; Fireback, Introduced, 65 ;

Hybrids, 68
Pheasants, Indian, Introduced, 118
Pheasantries in South Garden, 83
Pheasantry, Broken Down by Snow, 139

, Northern, 204 ; Stocked and Opened, 281

Pigeon, Tooth-billed, Introduced, 135
Pocock, Mr. R. I., his First Paper, 198; Ap-
pointed Resident Superintendent, 236
Poulton, Prof. E. B., Paper on Protective

Coloration in Insects, 198
Poultry, Encouragement of Best Breeds, 66 ;

Experiments with, 71 ; First Show, 96 ; Last,

193
Pratincoles, Breeding of, 214
Prince of Wales Visits the Gardens, 217 ; becomes

Vice-Patron, 224
Prjevalsky's Horse, 237
Proceedings, 1830, 48 ; 1831-1840, 78 ; 1841-1850,

100 ; 1851-1860, 123 ; 1861-1870, 145 ; 1871-

1880, 171 ; 1881-1890, 196 ; 1891-1900, 220 ;

1901-1904, 244
Promenades, 95

Prongbuck, Introduction of, 136
Prosector, Office of. Created, 127
Prosectorial Committee, 235
Prosectorium Enlarged, 194 ; Changes in, 235
Prospectus and Report to be drawn up, 18
Provision Table First Issued, 193
Publications, Subscription to, 145 ; Economies in

Production of, 245
Pycraft, W. P., on Sabine's Snipe, 5
Python, Incubating, at the Tower, 58 ; at

Gardens, 135
Python, Reticulated, Large, 216

QuAGQA, 56 ; Second, 111 ; the Tring Specimen,

111 ; Grey's, 119
Quinarian System, 33

Raffles, Lady, on Sir Stamford's Suggestion to
Davy, 7 ; Elected Honorary Member, 27 :
Presents Suraatran Collection, 27

Raffles, Rev. R. Blanchard, 22

Raffles, Sir Stamford, Visits England in 1816, 6 ;
Supposed Discussion with Sir Joseph Banks,

INDEX.

261

7; Suggests a Plan to Sir Humphry Davy,
7 ; Mentioned as founder, by Children, 8 ;
by Vigors, 9 ; the " Leading Spirit," 11 ; Six-
teenth in List of Subscribers, 11 ; Name added
to Committee in his absence, 14 ; Chairman of
Committee, 15; with Davy, Reports on Ponds,
15 (Note) ; and the Jardin des Plantes, 16 ;
acknowledges Davy as Co-Founder, 16 ;
Letter to Rev. Thomas Raffles, 16 ; Letter to
Sir R. N. Inglis, 17 ; Elected President, 21 ;
Address at First Meeting, 22; "Engages aa
Office," 20 ; Death of, 23 ; Obituary Notice
of, by Davy, 24 ; Bust of, in Lion House, 159

Rafflesian Collection, 52

Rarey Trains a Burchell's Zebra, 119

" Record of Progress," 243

Rees, Mr,, Assistant Secretary, 34

Refreshment Rooms, 128

Reorganisation Committee Appointed, 227 ; Re-
commendations of, 228 ; their Success, 246

Repository Built, 41

Reptile-house, First, 83; Precautions Against
Accidents, 113

, New, Opened, 177

Rhea, Darwin's, 119

Rhinoceros, African, Introduced, 140 j Death of,
215

, Indian, First, 59 ; Jim Tears Off His Horn,

172 ; Death of, 241 ; Hairy-eared, Introduced,
161 ; Death of, 217 ; Sondaic, Introduced,
162, 173 ; Sumatran, 160 ; Birth of Sumatran
Calf, 172

Rhinoceros JamracMl, 173

River-hog, Red, Introduced, 112

Rocky Mountain Goat, Introduced, 211

Romanes, G. J., on Sally, the Bald Chimpanzee,
197

Rothschild, Hon. Walter, on Cassowaries, 244 ;
Revision of Anthropoid Apes, 244

"Royal," Misuse of the Epithet, 132 (Note)

Sabink, Joseph, Resigns Treasurership, 47

Salamander, Giant, 121

Sally Purchased, 181 ; Death of, 215

Scientific Meetings Established, 48

Sclater, Dr. P. H., Elected Secretary, 104 ; Moves
Amendment to Resolution as to Publication
of Guide, 124 ; on the Risk of Keeping
Jumbo, 187; Revision of the Genus Cerco-
inthecus, 221; Resignation and Vote of Thanks
to, 227 ; Pension to, 230

Sclater, Mr. W. L., Selected by Council as Secve-
ta,ry ad interim, 227 ; Presented to Meeting by
President, '^28 ; Defeated at Annual Meeting,
229 ; Thanked by Council, 229

Screamer, Crested, Introduced, 161 ; Breeding of,
210

Sea-lion, Escape of, 205

Sea-lions' Pond, New, 234

Secretary to be a Paid Officer, 80 ; Change Justi-
fied, 143, 193

Secretaryship, Assistant, Abolished, 80

Serpents, Protest against Feeding in Public, 167 ;
Present Rule as to Feeding, 168

Sharp, Dr. David, Editor of " Zoological Record,"
218

Sharpe, Dr. R. B., Librarian, Resigns, 152; on
Kingfishers and Swallows, 147

Sixpenny Day, 97 ; Proposed Extension of, 122

Sloth, Two-toed, Kept in the Open, 100

Small Cats' House, 179

Small Mammals' House, New, 234

Snake Charmers, 92

, Egg-eating, 219

Snipe, Sabine's, 5

South Entrance Made, 83

Spoonbill, Roseate, Introduced, 85

Squirrel, Rafflesian, 8

Staff at End of 1900, 223

Stanley, Lord [See Derby, Earl of]

Stock Surplus Sold by Auction, 73

Stork, Famous Black, 94

Stork, Shoe-bill, 120

Superintendent, First Office for, 41

Surrey Zoological Society, 1 (Note)

Sutton, Mr. J. Bland, on Diseases of Monkeys,

197
Swans, Black-necked, 111

Tegetmeier, Mr. W. B., on Jumbo, 188 ; on Neglect
to Utilise Stock for Hybridising, 197

Ten-ace, Plan to Extend, 82

, Carnivora, 81 ; Animals Removed to, 82 ;

Cost of, 82

Thibaut, M., Agreement with, for Giraffes, 62

Thompson, Mr. John, Appointed Superintendent,
104

Thomson, Mr. Arthur, Made Head Keeper, 176;
Assistant Keeper, 202

, Mr. James, Made Head Keeper, 104; Sent

to India for Pheasants, 118; Sent to Cal-
cutta, 135

Thylacines Introduced, 94

Tickets, Riding, Introduced, 192

Tickets, Undated, Abolished, 145

Tiger, " Hairy," 166

Tigers, Fight Between, 166

Tityrits-Musimon, 70

Toad Surinam, Introduced, 207 ; Carrying Eggs,
212 ; Bartlett's Letter on, 213 ; Breeding
Habits of, 213 ; Mme. Merian on, 214

Tommy, the Chimpanzee, 60

Tortoises, Aldabran, 162

Tortoise, Daudin's, 208

, Gigantic, 94

House, New, 203

Tower Menagerie Presented, 57 ; List of, on Nov.,
1828, 58

Transactions, First Volume, 78 ; 1841-50, 101 ;
Proposed Discontinuance of, 123; 1861, 70,
147; 1871-80, 173; 1881-90, 196; 1891-1000,
222 ; 1901-04, 245

Tree Kangaroo Introduced, 88 ; Bennett's, 206

Tunnel Made, 41

Tweeddale, Marquess of. Elected President, 127 ;
Death of, 150 ; Prof. Newton's Eulogium on,
150

Vertebrate List, 145, 170, 196, 220

Victoria, Princess [Victoiia, Queen]

, Queen, Presents two Chevrotains, 65 ; Be-
comes Patroness, 65 ; PresentB Giant Land
Tortoise, 94 ; Approved of Efforts of Council
(1849), 97 ; Visits Gardens, 105, 224 ; Jubilee
Celebrated at Gardens, 192 ; Death of, 224

Vigors, N. A., on the Foundation of the Society,
8; his "Lucky Hit," 33; Co-founder with
Raffles, 52 ; with Raffles and Davy, 52

Vigorsian Collection, 52

Vice-Presidents First Appointed, 28

INDEX.

Visitors, Number of, 1828-80, 50; 1881-40, 79
1841-1850, 102 ; 1851-(30, 125 ; 1861-70, 149
1871-80, 174 ; 1881-90, 199 ; 1891-1900, 223
1901-1904, 246

Vulture, " Dr. Brookes," 28

Walden, Viscount [See Tweeddale, Marquess ofj

Walrus, Deposited, 115 ; Purchased, 189

Wanderoo and the Bishop, 29

Wapiti-house, 43

Waterbuck, Introduced, 184 ; Hybrid, Born, 239

Waterhouse, F. H., Librarian, 152 ; his " Index

Generum Avium," 196
, G. R., Curator of Museum, 54 ; his Catalogue

of the Museum, 77
Well, New, Sunk, 204
Whale Pond, 129
" White Elephant," 178
Wild Ass, Somali, 182
William IV. becomes Patron, 44
Windsor Menagerie, Presented byjWilliam IV., 44 ;

by King Edward VII., 236
Wolfs Sketches Exhibited, 129
Wolves' and Foxes' Dens, 180

Yarkell, Original Member, 13; Appointed
Secretary, 53 ; Services to the Society, 53,
104 ; Influence of, 67 ; Connection with the
Farm, 73 ; Death of, 104

Zebra and Ass Hybrids, 70

and Quagga Hybrids, 68

, Chapman's, 131

, Grant's, 236

, Gr^vy presented to Queen Victoria, 210 ; De-
posited by the King, 237 ; Presented by Sir

John Harrington, 238
, Skin of Somaliland sub-species Exhibited on

behalf of Mr. Rowland Ward, 219

House, New, 204

, Hybrid, 214 ; Presented by the King, 287

, Breaking and Training, 240

" Zoo," Note on this Contraction, 188

" Zoologia Typica," 84

Zoological Garden, First Census of Animals, 29 ;

Opened, 31 ; Fellow's Order Necessary, 31 ;

Reason for Singular Form, 36 (Note) ; Plan

of South Garden Described, 38-41; British

Birds in, 39
Gardens, North Garden, Laying Out of, 43 ;

Rumours of Removal, 81; Ground, Re-arrange-

ment of, 81
" Zoological Keepsake," 35 (Note)
" Zoological Record," 169
"Zoological Sketches," 84, 124
Zoological Society, First Circular, 10 : First List

of Subscribers, 11 ; Second List of Subscribers,

12 ; Circular Issued with Prospectus, 13 ;

Prospectus, 14 ; Official Designation of, 17 ;

Committee Meeting, February 26, 1826, 17 ;

Meeting at Rooms of Horticultural Society,17 ;

General Scheme of, 18 ; Subscription to, 21 ;

Subscription Raised, 79 (Note) ; No Single

Founder, 26
Zoology, Fourth International Congress of, 216 :

Reception of Members at Gardens, 216

Printed by Cassell & Company, Limited, La Belle Sauvage, London.

OCT 4 1991

^A'5/Ty OF lO^S^iS^

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Full text of "The Zoological Society of London : a sketch of its foundation and development, and the story of its farm, museum, gardens, menagerie and library"

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